THINK ABOUT THIS

-According to Employer Health Promotion Survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, 76% of the 618 employers surveyed have turned to health promotion as a means of cost containment, and 89% indicated they would increase their involvement over the next five years.

-General Electric reduced health care costs for members of its fitness program by 38% in an 18 month period, while non-members health care costs rose 21%

-The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of New Jersey found that workers who participate in their corporate fitness program have average medical claims that are 70% lower then workers who do not

-A Purdue University study demonstrated that executives who work out regularly are actually better decision makers. After testing the decision making capabilities of 80 people over a 9 month period of time, the fitness level of the exercisers had risen 22%, while their ability to make complex decisions had increased 70% over non-exercisers

-Mesa Petroleum’s absenteeism rate in 1990 was 50% lower then the national industry average as a result of its fitness programs. In the same study, the following companies also managed to reduce their absenteeism by significant percentages: Dupont (14%), General Mills (19%), Dallas Police (29%), Mutual Benefit Life (40%), and General Electric (45%).

-Toronto Life Assurance found that employee turnover over a 10 month period was 1.5% for fitness program participants and 15% for non-participants, a 90% reduction.

 

WHY HAVE A CORPORATE FOCUS ON FITNESS?

BACKGROUND

1 in 3, or 58 million American adults age 20 through 74 are overweight.  By  several    measures, health care spending continues to rise at the fastest rate in our history.   Total  national health expenditures increased by 7.7 percent in 2003 over 2002-four times the rate of inflation in 2003.  In 2004, employer health insurance premiums increased by 11.2 percent, nearly four times the rate of inflation.  This was the fourth consecutive year of double digit  increases. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

According to Employer Health Promotion   Survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, 76% of the 618 employers surveyed have turned to health promotion as a means of cost containment, and 89% indicated they would increase their involvement over the next five years. 

 According to D.W. Edington, Ph.D., at the University of Michigan, “Wellness programs in general, and fitness programs in particular may be the only employee benefits which pay money back.  When more people come to work, you don’t need to pay overtime or     temporary help; when people stay at the job longer, training costs go down;  lower health care claims cost you less if you’re self insured-and health care insurers as well as some companies are already beginning to create premiums based on fitness levels”

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Indiana found that its corporate fitness program had a 250% return on investment;  $2.52 for every $1.00 invested over a five year period

 

 

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