Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Corporate wellness programs fail both companies and patients

Kevin Pho, MD
KevinMD
September 19, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share

This column was published in USA Today on September 9, 2013.

More patients are coming to my primary care clinic with forms from their employer, asking me to measure their blood pressure, or check their sugar and cholesterol levels. Companies requesting medical data drive employee wellness programs, a booming $6 billion business, with approximately half of large employers offering such plans.

Coaching and financial incentives are often offered to help employees meet certain health metrics, such as losing weight, lowering cholesterol or quitting smoking. The results of these tests are often tied to the cost of health insurance, with less healthy workers paying more. Under the Affordable Care Act, up to 30% of an employee’s premium in 2014 can be influenced by these programs, an average of$1,620 annually per worker.

Wellness programs are designed to lower costs for employers and keep workers healthy, but do they accomplish either goal?

True health cost savings?

Wellness plans are often promoted as saving $3 or more for every dollar invested. But a recent RAND Corporation analysis found that fewer than half of companies took the time to calculate whether these programs saved them money. If they did, the numbers might have startled them. That same study also concluded that wellness programs did not significantly reduce employer health costs.

Why? Health screenings generally promote more doctor visits, prescription medications or further tests. While this might benefit workers’ health, it doesn’t necessarily save money.

If there are no measurable savings, employers pass on the cost of these programs, as much as $500,000 per year, to workers by raising their insurance premiums.

Whether wellness programs improve health is also dubious. This year, the California Health Benefits Review Program, which advises the state’s legislature, found that employees’ blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol did not improve by participating in a corporate wellness plan. Weight loss was minimal, with the RAND researchers finding that workers lost about 1 pound annually for three years.

Furthermore, there was no improvement in the rate of hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

Some short-term benefits

While there was a short-term gain in the rate of smokers quitting, it came with a qualification. Fewer than half of employees participate in wellness programs, which are mostly voluntary. Those who participate are often the most motivated, making it hard to tell whether their smoking cessation was due to the wellness program or the employees’ motivation.

Wellness programs also require tests more frequently. For instance, many require blood sugar and cholesterol screens every year in healthy adults, far in excess of recommended guidelines, which call for checking these levels once every three and five years, respectively. Such over-testing doesn’t necessarily make patients any healthier and contributes to the $210 billion our health system spends annually in unnecessary care.

Because I want my patients to save money on their insurance premiums, I dutifully fill out their wellness forms and order the requested screening tests that might not be needed. But it’s doubtful I’m saving these companies money or making my patients healthier by doing so.

Kevin Pho is an internal medicine physician and co-author of Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices. He is on the editorial board of contributors, USA Today, and is founder and editor, KevinMD.com, also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

E-cigarettes: Good for adults, bad for children?

September 19, 2013 Kevin 1
…
Next

Defeating overtesting: Right sometimes does bring might

September 19, 2013 Kevin 10
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
E-cigarettes: Good for adults, bad for children?
Next Post >
Defeating overtesting: Right sometimes does bring might

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Kevin Pho, MD

  • Surgeon General’s warning: the dark side of social media on children’s mental health

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Is FDA-approved Veozah a game-changer in menopause hot flash treatment?

    Kevin Pho, MD

More in KevinMD

  • The Spandex dilemma: Does size still matter?

    Janet L. Cray
  • Surgeon General’s warning: the dark side of social media on children’s mental health

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Is FDA-approved Veozah a game-changer in menopause hot flash treatment?

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Remembering Heather Armstrong: the tragic loss of the “Queen of Mommy Bloggers” sparks a global conversation on mental health

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Celebrating 2 million downloads of The Podcast by KevinMD!

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why telling kids to eat less and move more fails to address obesity

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
    • Why enterprise risk management is key to value-based health care success

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking physician resilience for sustainable well-being

      Sarah Webber, MD | Physician
    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 14 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why telling kids to eat less and move more fails to address obesity

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
    • Why enterprise risk management is key to value-based health care success

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking physician resilience for sustainable well-being

      Sarah Webber, MD | Physician
    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Corporate wellness programs fail both companies and patients
14 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...