Employer spending on wellness incentives has doubled since 2009 and more companies are requiring employees to undergo biometric tests, according to survey by Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on Health.
Corporate employers surveyed plan to spend $521 per employee on average for wellness-based incentives this year, compared to the per employee average of $260 in 2009, when Fidelity and the Business Group began the annual survey.
As both employer and employee healthcare costs have grown, companies have turned to wellness programs to try to help workers prevent or address health problems. Offerings include everything from weight loss and diabetes management programs to gym memberships and bike racks.
About 90 percent of the 120 2,000-plus employee companies surveyed currently offer wellness-based incentives, up from just under 60 percent in 2009. The most popular wellness-based incentives among companies surveyed were a decrease in premiums, cash or gift cards and contributions to health savings accounts.
"Employers of all sizes have embraced wellness-based incentives to help control costs, and companies are now looking at ways to design and optimize their programs to maximize their positive impact on health for both the organization and employees," Adam Stavisky, senior vice president of Fidelity's Benefits Consulting business, said in a media release.
The survey also found that 15 percent of the employers are requiring employees to complete either biometric screening or health risk assessment prior to enrolling in health plans. About 10 percent of companies surveyed will be requiring employees to complete a health risk assessment, or else default into a less generous health plan.
About 7 percent of employers surveyed said their employees opting not to complete biometric screenings – which typically measure a person's body mass index, blood pressure, waistline, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels – would be defaulted into a less attractive health plan subset. Three percent of employers in the survey said workers opting out of risk assessments or biometric screenings wouldn't be eligible for benefits.
About 40 percent of the employers surveyed plan to include outcomes-based metrics in their incentive programs, such as measuring progress in cholesterol, blood pressure and weight.
"An increasing number of employers understand how wellness programs contribute to a healthy workforce," Helen Darling, National Business Group on Health CEO, said in a media release. "And it's encouraging to see employers take the necessary steps to tailor their wellness programs in a way that will incent and motivate their employees to engage in health-improvement activities and find ways to reward them for their progress."
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