Health Management Programs Pay Dividends for Employers

According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, health care costs for people with a chronic condition are five times higher than for those without such a condition. Poor health and chronic disease reduce economic productivity by contributing to increased absenteeism, poor performance, and other losses.

Over 75 percent of health care expenditures are attributable to chronic diseases that can be prevented or managed. Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of employer sponsored health plans that offer health management or wellness.

According to Mercer's National Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Plans, health plan cost increases in 2010 for employers with extensive health management programs were about 2 percentage points lower than for employers offering limited or no health management programs.*

Encouraging employees to get involved in managing their own health is not only good sense - it's also good business.

*http://www.mercer.com/press-releases/1400235?siteLanguage=100