When your workers take advantage of their employee wellness benefits, it allows them to take control of their lives by improving their well-being where it may be lacking. But they can also improve their quality of life, as it is these same benefits that enables them to discover health conditions that they may not have been able to identity otherwise, a new study suggests.
Among consumers enrolled in a sponsored wellness program provided to them by their workplace, nearly half – 46 percent – identified what proved to be a chronic illness, according to a recent survey conducted by consumer health management company HealthMine.
The poll, which was done earlier this year in April, involved 750 people who participated in an opt-in panel and performed by polling firm Survey Sampling International.
One of the ways in which employee wellness benefits enable workers to spot health conditions that require maintenance is through testing procedures performed by a primary care physician or specialist. And by and large, workers believe their benefits are valuable because of this service. Nearly 75 percent of consumers thinks wellness programs ought to include genetic testing to identify chronic conditions, a separate survey from HealthMine revealed.
Furthermore, workers would be sure to take advantage of them if offered. Approximately three-quarters said they'd utilize vision screenings and 73 percent said they'd use screenings to guard against high blood pressure, the poll revealed, which was performed in May also by SSI.
Bryce Williams, HealthMine president and CEO, stressed that for employee wellness benefits to be truly effective, they need to be conducive to the user so that they're tailored to poor health scenarios they may be at risk for due to age or family history.
"Wellness programs must enable people to learn their key health facts, and connect individuals to their personal clinical data anytime, anywhere," Williams explained. "When consumers and plans are empowered with knowledge, wellness programs can make recommendations meaningful to individuals, and help to prevent and manage chronic disease."
CDC: Almost half of U.S. has chronic condition
Nearly half of all Americans has some type of chronic illness, according to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common ongoing health conditions include hypertension, diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis. Chronic health problems may not be cured with wellness program participation, but medical experts agree that it's an effective way form of lessening its severity when symptoms flare up.
It's getting to the point where wellness program are the rule rather than the exception among employers, perhaps because they're proving to be effective ways of keeping workers' well-being in good shape. Among working-age adults who receive health insurance through their workplace, 48 percent say they're also provided with a wellness program if they desire to use it, according to a poll done last year by Kaiser Family Foundation.
Incentives shouldn't be tied to goal achievement, KFF poll finds
There are still some misgivings, though, about whether premiums should be tied to participation or health outcomes. Nearly 3 in 4 respondents to the KFF survey thought it was inappropriate for workers to pay more if they're unable to fulfill a health goal that they set out to achieve when first participating in a wellness program.
When wellness incentives not only apply to workers, but to family members as well, consumers are all the better for it. About 43 percent of consumers would like benefits offered to their immediate family members – specifically a spouse and children – that they themselves are provided with, SSI polling revealed.
