{"id":12785,"date":"2019-11-06T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/incentive-wellness-program-lower-costs-better-health-habits\/"},"modified":"2022-11-10T12:34:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T17:34:22","slug":"incentive-wellness-program-lower-costs-better-health-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/incentive-wellness-program-lower-costs-better-health-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Incentive-Based Wellness Program Results In Lower Health Costs, Better Health Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent study<\/a> of employees enrolled in an incentive-based wellness program revealed cost savings to both the employees and their employer as well as improvement in other health measurements.<\/p>\n

The study followed more than 10,000 employees over a five-year period. The first two years of the study served as a baseline, and the last three years served as the analysis period. Researchers tracked employee health, healthcare claims costs and usage, and employee productivity.<\/p>\n

At the end of the study, program participants were more likely to report a higher intake of fruits and vegetables, with the number eating five or more servings per day increasing from 16.6% to 28.3%. Participants reporting more than 150 minutes of exercise per week increased from 36.2% in the baseline period to 61.6% in the analysis period.<\/p>\n

\"Daily<\/p>\n

Though healthcare claims costs rose across the population over the five-year period, wellness program participants categorized as highly engaged only saw costs increase 7.1%, compared to 12.1% for low engaged participants. Higher engagement also correlated with fewer hospital admissions and emergency room visits.<\/p>\n

\"TOTAL<\/p>\n

Finally, by the end of the five-year period, highly engaged employees reported 55% fewer unhealthy days than low-engaged ones.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Incentives And Penalties<\/h2>\n

Participants in the wellness program earned points toward rewards such as gift cards, fitness devices and apparel, and product discounts. The more points participants earned, the higher their status in the program and the more rewards they could earn.<\/p>\n

However, as both The New Republic<\/a><\/em><\/strong> and Associations Now<\/a> report, employees who did not participate in the program were charged a $25\/month fee.<\/p>\n

While incentives and gamification<\/a> can be useful for encouraging participation in wellness programs, charging a fee to non-participants can result in pushback from all employees, as noted in The New Republic opinion piece.<\/p>\n

Employers should be cautious about fees charged to non-participating employees (penalties) for a number of reasons:<\/p>\n