Rising health care costs is one of the preeminent issues affecting the economy, employers and employees on a day-to-day basis. It's widely acknowledged that one of the only tools to proactively impact these costs in a positive way is through employer-sponsored wellness and health promotion programs.

An ever-increasing trend points to the fact that many individuals do not understand the role that they play individually in the health care crisis. Likewise, many employers do not effectively communicate this "story" to their employees in a positive and empowering way. This lack of clear communication can undermine the impact of a company's wellness initiatives and possibly cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

With these facts in mind, the following will outline important ways in which you should (and shouldn't) communicate the correlation between health and cost so that you do not discourage or alienate your employees.