Company wellness programs are changing suggests a new survey by the National Business Group on Health and Fidelity.
Employers are increasingly focusing on a broader concept of employee well-being, including financial and emotional wellness, as opposed to narrower efforts focused on getting workers to lose weight and lower their health costs.
The survey of 129 employers was too small to draw major conclusions on a number of the issues that it covered, but for some topics, the response from employers was significantly different than in previous years.
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Most notably, in 2015 44 percent of employers reported including outcome-based wellness incentives. This year, the percentage was nearly cut in half — only 24 percent say they reward workers who lose weight, quit smoking, or achieve other health-oriented goals.
The drop in outcome-based incentives is driven by a move away from encouraging employees to lose weight.
In fact, the average incentive offered to employees for quitting smoking actually rose from $122 to $199, while the average incentive for losing weight dropped from $193 to $109. The average incentive offered for other goals aligned with body weight and diet, including cholesterol, glucose levels and blood pressure, also dropped.
The majority of the companies polled still do not tie smoking to health insurance costs. Only 28 percent reported charging smokers extra for their health plan, while 13 percent reported a "discount" for non-smokers.
Eighty-seven percent of employers reported having emotional wellness initiatives in place, while an additional 11 percent said they are considering putting in place such programs in the near future. Similarly, three-quarters reported financial wellness programs and 20 percent said they were looking to implement one soon.
In terms of physical well-being, the most common programs still focus on physical fitness, rather than diet. Just under half of employers reported having some type of policy in place regarding "healthy food options," although 23 percent said they might implement such a program in the near future. Similarly 31 percent have some type of discount program for healthy foods, while 19 percent are thinking about putting it in place.
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