Joyce Boyes, a human resources manager at a Massachusetts hospital, wanted to lose weight. When her employer, UMass Memorial Health Care, pressed employees to get fitter, she took up the challenge.
One year and 50 fewer pounds later, the employee-compensation manager is a model for how employer-sponsored health programs are supposed to work. Boyes joined an online social network called Shape Up The Nation and started using a pedometer to log her activity. E-mailed reminders to exercise and eat correctly came to her in-box. Her colleagues could use the Web site to see if she was meeting her goals. "This program was a starting point," Boyes says. The healthier habits stuck: Her doctor even reduced the amount of Lipitor, a cholesterol-fighting drug, that she takes.
UMass Memorial, one of the largest employers in Worcester, Mass., is trying to contain employee medical costs. State and federal health-care reforms require employers to cover a greater share of their staff, which means companies are on the hook for higher payments to insurers. U.S. health-care costs are rising rapidly, fueled by greater spending on prescription drugs, the increasing prevalence of chronic illness, and an aging population. Obesity alone costs U.S. companies as much as $45 billion annually, according to a 2008 report by the Conference Board, a nonprofit research group.
In response, companies such as Intel (INTC), Papa John's International (PZZA), Timberland (TBL), Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), and International Paper (IP) are signing employees up for memberships on Web sites that provide information about nutrition and fitness. They're conducting health screenings and tracking staffers' workouts. Some companies are even giving workers pedometers to track how many steps they take.
The goals are the same: to make employees fitter and reduce health-care expenses. "A small group that's not healthy is increasing the cost for everyone," says Jodi Fuller, director of global benefits at packaging maker MeadWestvaco (MWV). "As a benefits director, [I ask] what can I do to lower those costs?" she says.
Companies are increasingly turning to technological solutions. In addition to Shape Up The Nation, they are trying online services from Virgin Group's Virgin HealthMiles, Limeade, and RedBrick Health. These services have helped increase employee participation in wellness programs by offering incentives that range from cash to health-insurance discounts in exchange for meeting health and fitness goals.
U.S. companies' medical costs rose an average of 7 percent in 2009, after rising 6 percent in 2008, according to a February report from the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit association, and consulting firm Towers Watson (TW). Many employers say they expect costs to keep escalating because of recent federal health-care legislation. In March, after the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act was signed into law, Deere & Co. (DE) said that its expenses would increase by $150 million in 2010.
Post a comment about this story in Reader Discussion…
Track and share business topics across the Web.
RSS Feed: Most Read Stories
RSS Feed: Most E-mailed Stories
RSS Feed: Most Discussed Stories
About Advertising EDGE Programs Reprints Terms of Use Disclaimer Privacy Notice Ethics Code Contact Us Site Map Press Room
©2010 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
Read Full Article »