Prevention Matters

A Health Affairs article reviews the evidence on workplace wellness programs and concludes that the medical savings outweigh the costs for employers.

The authors conducted a critical review of more than 100 existing peer-reviewed analyses of employee wellness programs, many of which use health risk assessments and focus on obesity and smoking, the top two causes of preventable death in the United States. They found that these initiatives save employers money both through reduced health costs for their employees and reduced absenteeism.  For every dollar spent on wellness programs, about $3.27 was saved in medical costs and $2.37 was saved in reduced workplace absenteeism.