HJNO Jan/Feb 2020

WELLNESS PROGRAMS 30 JAN / FEB 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   DISEASES such as diabetes and cancer are major cost drivers within a group health insurance plan. It is well known that when cancer is detected in its early stages, the sur- vival rate increases, and the insurance paid by employers for medical care is less costly. For the sake of this article, we will remove the emotional human element and focus more on the financial side of medical care. According to a study by the World Health Organization, cancer treatments for patients with early diagnoses are estimated to be one half to one quarter of the expense, compared to treatments for patients with advanced stages of cancer. 2 Thus, early detection is key to preventing highmedical claim costs. Keepingmedical claimcosts low on a group health insurance plan is essential to keeping the premiums low and making the health plan sustainable for an employer. Therefore, one of the main concepts of an employer sponsored wellness program is to identify major health cost drivers early, thus saving money and lives. Wellness programs were created tomake employees happier, and to improve employ- ees’ health. Within a wellness program, there are at least four ways a company can attempt to improve their employees’health. First, wellness programs provide an experience major loss of motor functions, speech, sight, and other detrimental con- ditions. If an employee wellness program can prevent such amajor loss of health and physical well-being, the employee will ben- efit, as will the company, who will avoid a negative financial impact. Likewise, during the annual exam, the employee will have lab work done, and conditions such as high cho- lesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems can be detected. Early detection is key, and wellness programs remind employees about other preventive measures such as mammograms, colonos- copies, prostate exams, and immunizations. Second, wellness programs promote exercise, healthy diet, and smoking cessa- tion through regular communication with incentive for employees to get a wellness exam from their primary care physician once a year. Some employers offer spe- cial gifts or financial reimbursement on the employee’s paycheck, while other employers are making wellness exams mandatory. The sole purpose of the annual wellness exam is for the employee to be evaluated by their primary care physician. The annual exam includes checking the employee’s blood pressure. Checking blood pressure is a relatively simple procedure, however, it is essential to ruling out hypertension. In the event an employee does not have an annual checkup, and happens to have hyperten- sion, the employee’s condition could lead to a stroke. A stroke can have negative consequences for the employee, who may “The annual exam includes checking the employee’s blood pressure. Checking blood pressure is a relatively simple procedure, however, it is essential to ruling out hypertension.” “According to a study by the World Health Organization, cancer treatments for patients with early diagnoses are estimated to be one half to one quarter of the expense, compared to treatments for patients with advanced stages of cancer. 2”