Employees Take Responsibility for Their Own Health? Yes, It Can Happen!

As health costs continue to rise and the economy slows, employees are being challenged to take more responsibility for their own health. But, in order to develop effective plans and support programs for employees, employers must first understand what drives their workers’ health care decisions.
To narrow the gap between desired and actual employee behavior, employers can listen to the voice of the consumer, their employees.

Responses from nearly 2,500 U.S. workers are compiled in the second installment of Watson Wyatt’s 2008 Employee Perspectives on Health Care report. This year’s findings shed light on how employees view their company’s healthcare programs and which health, education and communication programs best encourage employees to accept the invitation to change their behavior and lead healthier lifestyles.
Although responses were collected in May and June of 2008, before the full extent of the financial crisis was known, they illustrate employees’ sensitivity to higher health care premiums. They also indicate clearly that companies can do more to create a culture of health that helps lower workers’ health care costs while improving their health status and productivity.
Key findings this year include:

• Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of employees are willing to pay more money out of their paycheck in order to keep health costs low and predictable. This represents a marked difference compared with results from 2007, when twice as many were open to higher premiums for more certain health care costs.
• Two-thirds of employees are trying to take better care of themselves, while many others are trying to reduce their health care costs. However, this year more employees are also taking actions (e.g., missed doctor’s visit or skipped doses of prescribed medications) that might lead to larger expenses down the road.
• Many employees believe that their employers could do more to foster a culture of health. Slightly less than majority say that their employer promotes a healthy work environment (41 percent) and that their senior leaders visibly support a culture of health (45 percent).
  A vast majority of employees (85 percent) say they have a primary care physician, a key to preventive care. These employees are more likely to be engaged in their health, and 76 percent are getting preventive screenings.
• Financial incentives are still the most effective way to encourage participation in health related programs. More than half (52 percent) of employees respond enthusiastically to financial incentives that are targeted to their needs by demographic, job type or condition.

Feel free to contact me to learn more about how top companies are managing a healthy workforce.

Katie Demarest
Benefits Consultant
The Freeman Agency
O: 281-890-7069
C: 281-460-5574
katie@thefreemanagency.com
http://www.thefreemanagency.com/
Employee Health & Wellness Benefits

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2009 Health Care Cost Survey and Trends

Over the last two decades, the Towers Perrin Health Care Cost Survey has identified key
trends in health care — examining cost drivers, enrollment patterns, plan design, population
health, prescription drugs, retiree medical and other topics on an annual basis. During this
period, health care has changed dramatically, in ways that have challenged the industry to
evolve and innovate.

• Employers face an average 6% increase in health care costs in 2009, according
  to the Towers Perrin 2009 Health Care Cost Survey.
• High-performing companies have managed to hold increases to 5% or less. In dollar terms, low-performing companies expect average 2009 costs of $10,104 per employee, while high-performing companies will pay $8,904 — a difference of $1,200 per employee that can quickly translate into millions of dollars in savings for an average-size company

How can your company become a high performer and manage health care increases? Here are what some of the top performing companies are doing:

• Build the link between workforce health and business results
• Ensuring that key success factors, such as leadership involvement, are firmly in place
• Engaging employees and promoting a culture of health
• Investing in a broad range of existing and emerging health management programs and approaches
• Designing and pricing programs to create transparency and appropriate incentives
• Rigorously measuring program and vendor performance against goals
• Building action plans to address gaps and opportunities

Bottom Line: GOOD HEALTH MEANS GOOD BUSINESS

If you would like a complimentary copy of the 2009 Towers Perrin Health Care Cost Survey or if you would like to learn more about building and aligning health care strategies into your business, please contact me at katie@thefreemanagency.com .