IMAGINE SAVING $6 FOR EVERY $1 SPENT EMPLOYEE-WELLNESS PROGRAMS DO JUST THAT

When business owners examine per-person health-insurance costs from five years ago, and project costs for five years from now, many see an unsustainable trend. More and more businesses face the hard choices of cutting benefits, increasing co-pays or dropping coverage altogether. The trajectory of ever-rising costs has been built upon a set of assumptions that simply do not work. At least 50 percent of your business's health-care costs for employees are driven by their lifestyle-related behaviors such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise. Yet less than 5 percent of most health-care expenditures are directed toward efforts to promote healthier lifestyles.

On May 9, the Greater Dallas Chamber will host a luncheon, “Worksite Wellness: A Strategy for Lower Health-Care Costs & More Productive Employees.” The luncheon will feature three experts on the subject: Dr. Eduardo J. Sanchez, commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services, Dr. Paul Handel, vice president & chief medical officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and Mike Haefner, senior vice president of Human Resources, Sabre Holdings. The luncheon will be held at the Double Tree Hotel (4099 Valley View Lane, Dallas, TX) from 11:30 AM – 1 PM. Cost is $45 for Chamber members and $65 for prospective members. To purchase tickets, participants may do so online at www.dallaschamber.org or call 214-746-6734.

Imagine spending only 5 percent of your budget for motor-vehicle maintenance on maintenance itself, while you spend 95 percent on repair. Instead of investing in regular oil changes, you buy rebuilt engines. This is the typical model for employee health care: all repair, no maintenance. Instead of promoting healthy lifestyles, rising health premiums are paying for growing numbers of triple-bypass and gastric-bypass surgeries.

The good news is that, in the past 10 years, the annual return on investment for employee-wellness programs has been about $6 saved for every $1 spent. The fact is that well-designed worksite-wellness programs create, on average, a 25 percent reduction in health-plan costs, sick leave, disability pay, and workers' compensation.

Employee wellness programs can increase productivity and lower health-care costs. Employers who implement effective employee-wellness programs are employers who are building sustainable health-care models for the 21st century.

Healthcare Hot Topic events are sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Methodist Health System, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Thomas Group, Baylor Health Care System, Chamblee & Ryan, P.C., HKS, Inc., and RTKL Associates Inc.
The Greater Dallas Chamber builds regional prosperity through economic growth, public policy and member service.
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(Note to Editors: For photo or interview opportunities please contact Jo Trizila at 214-746-6690)