How employee wellness programs can lower health insurance premiums

Health care insurance premiums continue on an alarming trend upward causing many to ask what's a conscientious employer to do. For many employers health care costs continue to spiral out of control. Many employees who work for smaller companies do not even have company-paid health care at all. Other employers are slashing health care benefits to the bone.For many employers there seems to be no choice between cutting health insurance and keeping the doors open for business.But there has been found a significant factor in lowering health insurance premiums-using an employee wellness program.

Employee wellness programs are designed to create a culture of health in the workplace. They can offer incentives and rewards for employees who adopt healthier lifestyles, such as discounts on group health premiums, and penalize those employees who do not.While this is somewhat of a new phenomenon, it has become a helpful solution for employers who feel they have few choices within the health insurance market. But there's also a major benefit: a healthier work force lives longer and is much happier. Experts across the board agree that employee wellness programs are a good idea. They really do work! But it is important to note that programs should be created only after employers really think through just how much they want to dictate the lifestyle choices that their employees make.

While there is no definitive rate that an employee wellness program can affect a company's health insurance premiums the proof is that they really do. How much they affect health insurance premiums depends on a lot of things, like the census of its work force and how aggressive the wellness program is. But the bottom line is this: if you reduce health care costs over the course of a year that will play a big role in your premiums being lowered.

However it is crucial though that employers step lightly. It has been shown that some employers can get very aggressive. For example, some employers have created policies where people cannot use tobacco products at any time and still be employed at the company. This is very different than not smoking while at work; this is not smoking at all and that is a very controversial policy. Setting up any employee wellness program should be carefully thought out. There are employee relations implications. Employers should ask themselves will a policy affect morale. Will it lead to a union-organizing drive among workers? Could it affect the company's ability to recruit or keep top talent?

While employee wellness programs have been shown to lower health insurance rates it is important to note that there other ways for employers to avoid rising health care costs other than adopting strict wellness programs. Many employers today try to shop around every time their insurance goes up (which is just about every year) in order to get the best rate they can. However health insurance is regulated heavily by the states so many businesses are limited as to what their health insurance choices really are.

While employee wellness programs seem to be the rising trend many employers are still faced with difficult choices when it comes to spiraling health care costs. It can seem like our system is broken and no remedy is on the horizon, and employers are doing what they think is in the best interests of the entire work force. It goes without saying that employees, who live unhealthy lifestyles, including those who smoke, use their health insurance more. These costs are forcing employers to put measures in place that will make health insurance more equitable for all.