Worksite Wellness Decreases Health Benefit Expenses Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Treating people’s diseases currently occupies the largest part of our health care dollar, but “keeping healthy people healthy” will effectively lower health care costs for companies in the future.
According to the Partnership for Prevention, productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost employers $225.8 billion a year. However, a review of published studies of worksite health promotion programs showed that employers experienced an average reduction of 28% in sick leave absenteeism, 26% in health costs and 30% in worker’s compensation and disability management claims costs.
If you’re enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan, the following resources are available to you and your employees:
Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) at MyHealth@Anthem®, via www.anthem.com, powered by WebMD®. With information provided through the HRA and the personalized assessment of health status, many people are motivated to make changes.
Direct access to smoking cessation programs using discounts available through SpecialOffers@AnthemSM.
Anthem’s disease management, proactive care management and maternity care programs. For additional information on innovative programs and customized services, contact your local health insurance agent or Anthem at (877) 814-4237.
Sign up for Anthem’s Health Care Cost Toolkit. This free program has several “tools” you can use to communicate to your workforce the value of using health care wisely, as well as encouraging prevention and healthy lifestyles. Go to www.anthem.com/healthcarecosts to sign up for this complimentary program
Here are a few other ideas to keep your employees healthy:
Stock healthier food in vending machines
Provide on-site facilities for weight reduction programs or provide information about meetings near your facility after hours
Offer access to flu shots in the workplace
Whether leading by example or investing in tools and programs to increase wellness awareness, proactive health is far less expensive and far more rewarding than reactive health. It’s also more fun. Healthy employees are happy employees, and that benefits everyone.
To obtain affordable health care coverage with access to a variety of prevention and wellness tools and resources, the Indiana Chamber offers ChamberCare to its members that have between 2 and 99 employees (excluding those in Marion County, who have access to an existing health care plan). For more information on ChamberCare, please contact the Chamber at (317) 264-3793.
