HJNO Jan/Feb 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JAN / FEB 2020 31 employees. Many wellness programs include communications through email, cell phone apps, flyers, and text messages. Employees who exercise, eat right, and do not smoke tend to live healthy lives well past retire- ment age.  3 Third, wellness programs are designed to reduce stress by promoting amore engaging workplace and educating employees about better practices such as managing personal finances, choosing a better diet, and exercis- ingmore often. Employees with lower stress levels are happier and healthier. Fourth, wellness programs can offer a plethora of other options that will benefit the employee. Examples include discounted gym memberships, free counseling, group exercise activities, and social responsibil- ity activities. Now that we have a better understand- ing of wellness programs, the question remains—do employer sponsored wellness programs reduce costs? Many reports say they do not. The determination of whether or not wellness programs produce savings for employers is based on two principles: employee bias and statistics.  Employee bias is based on the idea that wellness programs only appeal to those employees who are interested in personal wellbeing. For example, John enjoys jogging and tries his best tomaintain a healthy diet. Therefore, when John’s employer offers a wellness program that requires him to log his weekly exercise and gives him tips on healthy food choices, John is more than happy to sign up. On the other hand, Bob does not exercise, eats a lot of fast food, and smokes a pack of cigarettes every day. Bob enjoys his lifestyle, and is not motivated to make changes in his life that include exer- cise, improvements in his diet, and giving up his cigarettes. Therefore, Bob does not enroll in the program. Now, let’s compare John and Bob. On average for the past ten years, John has seen his primary care physi- cian for his annual examand once during the spring for a common cold. John’s medical claims typically average about $400 for each visit, in addition to the cost of his generic sinus medication. Each year, John’s health insurance pays out roughly $900 in medi- cal claims. Bob has not had an annual exam in twelve years. Three months ago, Bob was having severe chest pains that resulted in an emergency room visit, a two-day inpatient hospital stay, and a regimen of medication to control his hypertension. Last year alone, Bob’s health insurance paid out $41,000. Until Bob comes to the realization that his lifestyle needs to change, there is nothing a wellness program can do to help Bob’s employer. The failure of the statistics is simple to understand because the primary player gathering statistics is the wellness pro- gram. They are biased because they want their programs to work. A salesperson for the wellness program has to come into the employer’s office and sell that employer on how the wellness program can save them money. Statistical data can be manipulated in order to bolster the wellness program’s performance and the salesperson’s point. The task of determining cost savings would fall upon the employer to evaluate the well- ness program’s monthly or bi-monthly cost reduction. Employers are busy people, and they often do not have time to evaluate a wellness program. According to a recent survey, 73 percent of employers offer a wellness program. 4 There- fore, the employers who are investing large amounts of money in wellness programs “Bob has not had an annual exam in twelve years. Three months ago, Bob was having severe chest pains that resulted in an emergency room visit, a two-day inpatient hospital stay, and a regimen of medication to control his hypertension. Last year alone, Bob’s health insurance paid out $41,000.”