The Impact of Healthcare

During the business training for Achieve Fitness USA Licensing Program we talk about a variety of topics and programs. One of the programs available is a corporate wellness program. In our discussions about corporate wellness we discuss this from three aspects:

1) The company
2) The employee
3) The potential employee

The Company Aspect

Companies are looking for additional ways to cut cost and reduce expenses. In regards to health care the average cost has more than doubled from $4,793 in 2001 to $11,058 in 2010. This is a huge expense for companies. Many companies who have 50 or more employees now offer some sort of wellness program. Companies are seeing a huge return on investment by implementing a wellness program. For every dollar spent they save three dollars. With this sort of incentive companies are putting pressure on their employees to activity participate in the wellness programs being made available. In fact some companies are even penalizing employees who are participating in the wellness programs. Some companies are penalizing through increased premium rates or an annual surcharge.

The Employee

Employees are feeling the pressure to pursue a healthier lifestyle and manage their chronic health conditions. The pursuit of a healthier lifestyle includes losing weight and quitting smoking. Managing chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc is strongly encouraged. The message is clear many companies are not accepting the lazy attitude many of today’s work force has towards their health.

The Potential Employee

Today the job market is more competitive than ever and whether we want to admit it or not the entire process of finding a job is based on discrimination. It’s true that traits such as color and gender are suppose to be set aside there still are many other factors. The price of health care has most certainly added another factor to be discriminated against when looking for a job. Employers are certainly more aware about the long term costs to the company if they hire someone who is in poor health and/or has poor lifestyle choices. If you have doubts here is evidence.

In 2007 The Cleveland Clinic stopped hiring smokers. It tests newly hired workers fro nicotine and rescinds the job offers for those who test positive. The person can participate in smoking-cessation programs and reapply for the job in 90 days.

Taking responsibility for one’s own health is going to become a reality.

Sources:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-healthy-or-else-2010-05-15

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060401/handson-human.html