Health Insurance Blog

The United States has experienced the presence of corporate wellness programs for several years now. Despite that most employees display a peculiar trait of not relying on these programs despite employers offering varied kinds of benefits. Usually perks range from discounted prices at wellness centers (like gyms, spas etc.), cholesterol screenings at no extra cost and even free passes to special events like movie premieres and screenings. This approach does not do anything either for employees or their employers.

In recent times though, employers have actually waken up to the fact that ‘extras’ on wellness programs cannot really be the key to draw employees to pay better attention to their health and living. This has prompted them to take more serious measures where employees either participate in wellness programs or feel the crunch on their paychecks. Incentive- based programs slap heavy punishment on members if they fail to act in the interest of their health and the interest of the organization. Penalty can be quite high and can be a deterrent to erratic employee behavior concerning health and wellness.

The reason behind the employers’ new way of viewing and reviewing corporate wellness is simple- they want healthier employees to enhance work atmosphere and overall productivity. Honestly this is no unfair demand because healthier residents will make a healthier America. At least that’s how a new study sees it. According to that if programs focus more on prevention and less on cure, overall health costs will be halved in one sweep.