The cost of not being healthy.
Certainly, maintaining a healthy lifestyle will help you feel better, live longer, have more energy, and improve your self-confidence. But there are financial implications as well.

You know that attractive employee benefits (health, life, disability, retirement plans) help businesses attract and retain top employees who can help your business flourish. But business owners and their employees wrestle with the high and ever-increasing cost of those benefits.

Why does it cost so much? The “Power of Prevention, 2003”, a study from the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that the cost of obesity was $117 billion in 2000; the cost of physical inactivity was $76 billion in 2000; the cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke was $351 billion in 2003; and that each year, over $33 billion in medical costs are attributable to poor nutrition. And, it’s not just the direct medical costs that hit your bottom line. Lost productivity accounts for nearly half of the dollar figures cited.

How does it affect your bottom line?
For most small employers, the rates you pay for group health plans are based only partially on group-specific claims experience. Even so, health conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and others can cause initial premiums to be more than they might otherwise be. And for larger employers, the actual claims history of the group has a direct effect on the cost of their health care plans.

Health care plans are not the only place to find potential savings based on wellness. For example, workers compensation underwriters will set a lower rate if a company has a strong health and safety program. Don’t forget “soft-dollar” costs - costs associated with absenteeism and “presenteeism” (a new term for those who come to work when they’re ill and possibly infect others in the office) that are the result of health conditions.

How do you reach that perfect state of healthy-and-wealthy well-being?
The good news is that you can exercise some control over these costs by adopting healthier lifestyles. Following are some ideas for how you can put healthy lifestyles to work for you in cutting costs.

Recognize that healthier groups may pay less for health care plans.
Especially in the small-group market, factors other than group-specific claims come into play; demographics of the group, medical trends, and the experience of the “pool” of similarly-situated employers affect your rates. But a very healthy group of employees may qualify for lower initial rates, more stable renewal rates, and sometimes they’ll qualify for longer rate guarantees or second-year rate caps.

Invest in a Wellness Program.
Large corporations have long understood that an effective Wellness Program has a terrific ROI. If you’re not a large company, establish a Wellness Program that fits your situation. Be creative! Walking programs, friendly competition among departments, support groups for weight loss, and other activities can get you and your employees on the road to healthier lifestyles.

Structure your wellness program to target the most common and most costly risks (like obesity, heart disease, chronic diseases, tobacco use, and others).

Use resources available from your health insurance company, from your consultant, and on the internet. Check into complimentary screening services sometimes offered by hospitals and other providers.

Educate, inform, and involve your employees.
Educate employees on how their lifestyle choices, their use of plan benefits, and their financial contributions to premiums directly affect the cost of the health care plan and the company’s bottom line. Help them see that the financial health of the company affects each employee’s opportunity to share in that profitability.

Implement on-going communications with employees, including ideas on exercise, nutrition, and health management. Include their families in your communications too.

Also, pay attention to unhealthy hobbies and habits. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet, not buckling up in the car, and other risky behaviors can result in accidents and increased costs and stress to the employee and to the company’s bottom line.

Select the right health plan.
Many plans today encourage employees to take more personal responsibility for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, for choosing care and providers, and for paying a larger portion of care when it is received. Investigate consumer-driven plans, and find out how more traditional plans can also encourage similar behavior change.

Give employees incentives for getting and staying healthy.
Incentives can be financial (cash awards) or lower employee premiums. Be creative! Will a night on the town, or a new pair of running shoes, or an extra day of vacation motivate your employees?

Provide useable and effective tools to help employees take control over their health and wellness.
Consider paying for annual health risk assessments, annual screening “fairs,” disease management programs, health coaches, discounted health club memberships, access to a health line or nurse line, and sponsoring weight loss or smoking cessation programs.

Pay attention to hiring procedures.
Think about including items such as a post-offer physical, drug screening, and background check. After hiring, provide proper training so that employees are physically able and appropriately trained to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. Provide a hazard-free workplace, including use of personal protective equipment, an ergonomics program, and good wellness practices on and off the job.

With a smart financial strategy, a good measure of creativity, and some common sense, you and your employees can make 2006 a healthier and wealthier year.

Susan Dindinger leads the Kansas City office of TrueNorth Companies, a full-service insurance and financial strategies agency. She can be reached at 913.317.8432.

Article Source: http://www.flourishmagazine.com