How much of an employer’s medical costs are related to poor health habits that could be changed through a wellness training program?
The American Journal of Health Promotion found that approximately 25% of all outpatient and inpatient health plan claims were related to seven major health risks. These risk factors include poor nutrition, inadequate exercise, insufficient sleep, being over weight which increase the occurrence of infection, diabetes, heart disease and cancer which are the major drivers for health care utilization costs. These are the risks that an effective wellness program needs to address to be effective. Experts in the field of workplace wellness estimate that 30% to 60% of health plan costs could potentially be reduced or avoided altogether. One expert even estimates that 70% of health costs are potentially preventable.
