1. Practical Strategies for Implementing a
Wellness Plan

2. • Wellness: why all the buzz?
– Get the picture:
• Annual healthcare 39% over average
• Prescriptions 105% over average
• $300/employee/year more
• $39M annually in lost work hours

3. • How much could it really improve?
– Prudential:
• Disability days lower by 20%; per capita down 32%
• Medical costs 42% lower
– Providence General Medical Center:
• Workers’ comp down 83%
• Other savings in sick leave and healthcare costs
– HHS: $3.11 median savings for every
wellness dollar

4. • What is a wellness plan…
– The Wellness Tripod:
• Education
• Application, daily habits
• Incentive/benefit integration/measurement
• …and what is not?
– Short resources (knowledge, time)
– Piecemeal efforts (lack of follow-through and
measurement)

5. • Challenges:
– Cost
– Fluff
– Privacy

6. • Squash “fluff”
– Healthier populations more productive
– Non-work time
• Protect against privacy invasion
– Compliant plan, provider
– Outsourcing to third party

7. • Justifying the investment
– Healthcare savings take time (~2+ cycles)
• Chronic-illness claims, maintenance Rx, workers’
comp and disability can be expected to drop
– Interim leverage:
• Recruitment, retention
• Corporate citizenship
• Teambuilding
• Productivity
• Corporate message

8. • Brass tacks:
– Initial budgeting challenges
• Component adjustment
• Payment over time
• Employee investment-share
– How much?
• Desired outcome dictates investment

9. • Long-range offsets
– Recruitment, turnover costs
– Productivity measurements (www.shrm.org)
– Marketing/PR payoff
– Purchasing power
• Set short-term goals to indicate progress
– Participation
– Feedback, mood, morale
– Benchmark today

10. • Choosing a provider
– Certification, safety, insurance
– Compliance (HIPAA, ADA, etc.)
– Measurement and reporting
– Flexibility, midstream adjustment
– One-stop shop

11. Practical Strategies for Implementing a Wellness
Program