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Joint Consensus Statement: Improved workplace wellness programs needed
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After a review of the literature, regulations, case studies and other resources, six health organizations recognized the need for better practices as outcomes-based incentives become more common.
The Consensus Statement of the Health Enhancement Research Organization, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association have made a collaborative statement to assist employers with effectively implemented wellness programs.
“A wellness program should not be used in a way that threatens an employee’s ability to maintain health insurance because any resulting decrease in access to care would be in direct conflict with the primary objective of improving employee health,” the authors wrote.
According to the statement, approximately 150 million people in the United States received their health care coverage through an employer-sponsored group health plan.
“Employers spent more than $8,500 per active employee on health care coverage in 2011, 76% of the $11,176 total cost, with employees covering the balance. As health care cost increases continue to outstrip inflation, employers and employees alike are struggling with rising costs,” they wrote.
Because of the rising costs, more employers are taking on employee wellness programs with the intention to influence their employees to change their health behaviors.
The organizations behind the statement have developed two questions that target employers who choose to implement outcomes-based incentives: 1) What are the elements of a reasonably designed wellness program that incorporates outcomes-based incentives? 2) How can employers who use outcomes-based incentives be sure that their programs comply with the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines for a “reasonable alternative standard” to those who cannot meet the health standard?
The collaborative statement lists elements and their components for successfully implementing this type of incentive program.
“Strategic planning” includes organizational assessment, goal-setting, determination of a target population and the overall design of the wellness program, whereas “cultural support” includes leadership support, a champions approach to help design and advance the wellness program throughout the organization, an environment that supports healthy lifestyles, healthy policies and a health benefit design.
The collaborative also recommends programs such as assessments and screenings, as well as behavior change interventions as a way to measure individual needs. Engagement, measurements and incentive sizes are also suggested as methods for approaching wellness program efficacy.
In a press release, Ron Loeppke, MD, FACOEM, president-elect of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and vice chair of US Preventive Medicine and contributor to the statement, said incentives are just one tool employers should be considering when encouraging wellness in the workplace.
“To be effective, the incentive strategy must be part of a comprehensive workplace health improvement plan,” Loeppke said. “The guidance established by this collaborative reflects cutting-edge wellness research, innovative program design, forward-looking health care policy, and the real-world experience of practitioners of the country. It is our hope that employers who are considering outcomes-based incentives put this guidance into practice, and that this collaborative continues to help monitor and define the evolution of incentives in workplace wellness programs.”