Wellness Pays

> Resources

• ROI is often the prime question raised by employers who have interests in worksite health enhancement...13 studies [that were reviewed] reported average benefit/cost ratios of $3.48 in reduced health care costs and $5.82 in lower absenteeism costs per dollar invested…‘the financial impact of health promotion states ‘the return from well-designed comprehensive programs may be at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested, within 5 years following program initiation.’
• ROI can best be reviewed by breaking Population Health Management programs into five categories of interventions: health enhancement, risk management, demand management, disease management and disability management. Combined health enhancement and risk management interventions strategies focused on lifestyle behavior change have been shown to yield $3 to $6 ROI for each dollar invested in 2 to 5 years.
• Disease management interventions have reported up to $7 to $10 ROI for each dollar invested on medial costs within one year…This kind of ROI makes these interventions very attractive as part of a comprehensive [wellness] strategy.
• participation is the key that opens the ROI door. A recently reported analysis vividly demonstrated the power of participation by showing that a comprehensive health enhancement/risk management program could break even if participation in HRA and follow-up interventions succeeded in shifting just 1% of employees from "high-risk" to "low-risk" status.