Describing a crisis of preventable illness draining billions of dollars from the economy, health care leaders urged lawmakers to knock down barriers to work-based employee wellness programs that can provide incentives for healthy behavior and cut down on health costs.
Wellness programs are plans tailored for specific companies that can include health services, such as on-site flu shots, employee discounts at certain gyms or food stores, organized athletic leagues, access to a registered dietician and nutrition facts on all on-site food.
As diabetes, hypertension and stress become more prevalent and other chronic health problems squeeze the economy, Massachusetts advocates pointed to companies like AstraZeneca, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Raytheon and Fidelity that say their work-based wellness programs have improved worker productivity and morale and cut 25 percent of yearly health care inflation costs.
Supporters of such programs yesterday aired their hopes and concerns at a hearing of the Committee on Public Health, co-chaired by state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, and state Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln.
According to the New England Healthcare Institute, companies such as Johnson & Johnson, CitiBank and General Motors have documented reductions in health risks resulting from wellness programs.
But roadblocks to setting up such programs exist.
Small businesses, for example, often lack the resources to implement comprehensive programs. Advocates note the cost of such programs varies widely, depending on which services are included, and may be out of reach for some businesses. A Tufts Health Plan executive said her company pays about $150 per employee per year to provide a program.
John Auerbach, commissioner of public health, said low-income, minority workers are less likely to have a wellness program available to them, and are more likely to suffer from chronic illness. He said the department intends to roll out in early 2009 a state-endorsed program that would be accessible to employers that have different budgets and different conditions.
Health care advocates said seed money, tax credits, a ranking of the healthiest places to work and leveraging federal funds could help expand and encourage work-based wellness programs.
AdvancingWellness, a Watertown consulting firm that works to implement wellness programs, suggested prodding insurers to offer favorable rates to companies implementing such programs.
Jennifer Turgiss, an official with Virgin HealthMiles, a company that provides employers with customized wellness plans, told committee members that physical inactivity is the driver of many chronic illnesses.
Turgiss cited data indicating that her company's programs helped 10 percent of clinically obese participants lose weight and shed that designation. She urged the committee to consider incentives for individual employees, not just whole companies, to ensure maximum participation.
Brad MacDougall, associate vice president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, warned lawmakers to refrain from mandating a specific program, because "there is no standard program that will work for all employers."
Small businesses, for example, often see significant turnover that can negate the savings earned by wellness programs, he said, according to prepared testimony. In addition, companies with small profit margins may be unable to make new investments, he said.
Charles Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, touted the insurer's work with the insurance and financial services firm John Hancock on employee health programs. A joke between Harvard Pilgrim and Hancock officials, he said, was that the aggregate weight lost by the firm's employees had helped prevent the Hancock Tower from sinking deeper into the land-filled Back Bay. The firms also worked together on smoking reduction, and cholesterol and blood pressure control.
Maura Sweeney, CEO of Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank, described her company's wellness program, run with about 160 affiliated institutions, covering 10,000 employees. It features regional meetings to highlight successful initiatives, offers participants wellness reminders and partnerships with gyms, health clubs, food markets and massage therapists, which offer special deals.
Earlier this year, Gov. Deval Patrick's top health care aide suggested the next phase of the state's health care reform effort would include incentives for individuals to engage in healthy behavior.
