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While wellness programs have existed for decades, their prevalence has grown significantly over the past 10 years. Nearly 60% of American employers implementing new wellness programs since 2008; 23.7% have started offering them since 2010. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of organizations increased their wellness budgets in the last five years. The survey suggests a definite decrease in health care costs when wellness initiatives are offered, according to the 21.6% who have analyzed return on investment. Of the organizations that are analyzing ROI, 83% indicated a positive return. For every dollar spent on wellness initiatives, most organizations see between $1 to $3 decreases in their overall health care costs. According to the survey, the most prevalent reasons that organizations provide wellness initiatives are to help workers enjoy better overall physical health (45.6%) and to control health care costs (39.8%). Of the respondents who presently do not have wellness programs but plan to implement them within the next 12 months, 50.7% cite controlling health care costs as their motivation for adding the initiatives. Screening and treatment programs including flu shots (85%), health risk assessments (79.9%) and smoking cessation programs (67.5%) are some of the most popular wellness initiatives offered. Employers also make available fitness and nutrition programs such as walking/fitness challenges (58.6%), weight loss/management programs (52.5%), nutrition counseling (39.6%) and on-site fitness centers/equipment (36.4%).
While wellness programs have existed for decades, their prevalence has grown significantly over the past 10 years. Nearly 60% of American employers implementing new wellness programs since 2008; 23.7% have started offering them since 2010. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of organizations increased their wellness budgets in the last five years.
The survey suggests a definite decrease in health care costs when wellness initiatives are offered, according to the 21.6% who have analyzed return on investment. Of the organizations that are analyzing ROI, 83% indicated a positive return. For every dollar spent on wellness initiatives, most organizations see between $1 to $3 decreases in their overall health care costs.
According to the survey, the most prevalent reasons that organizations provide wellness initiatives are to help workers enjoy better overall physical health (45.6%) and to control health care costs (39.8%). Of the respondents who presently do not have wellness programs but plan to implement them within the next 12 months, 50.7% cite controlling health care costs as their motivation for adding the initiatives.