(MATT HERRING/PHOTODISC/GETTY IMAGES)
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Visit the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) workplace in Durham, N.C., and you'll notice a tobacco-free campus,
onsite clinic, fitness centers, healthy choices in the cafeteria, and competitions that encourage employees to be physically
active. Testing wellness programs on its own employees not only helps BCBSNC earn credibility, but also gives the insurer
an opportunity to refine its programs for its employer clients.
"We want to make sure that the operational details actually work and prove that the results are there, so when we go to market,
our programs are refined and ready to use," says Don Bradley, MD, BCBSNC chief medical officer and senior vice president of
healthcare services. "When it comes to workplace wellness, we have been walking our own talk."
The workplace wellness programs, which began in 2004, have not only shown results in BCBSNC's 4,900 employees but in its employer
group population, as well.
"One thing we know from following our employees' data year over year is that we have made significant strides with four key
metrics: smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight," Dr. Bradley says. As employers themselves, MCOs need to demonstrate that they are committed to wellness as a key health management strategy,
especially as the market shifts more and more toward prevention strategies, says Paul Veronneau, partner, health industries
advisory, and leader of the payer practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
"At the same time, it is important for them, as health services companies, to lead by example, by creating a culture of wellness
within their own organization and helping their own employees improve their health and well being," he says. "They also want
to acquire data to support that they are doing it right, and use that data to help them prepare and build a business case
for why other companies should do the same thing, and to reinforce that they would be a good partner."
WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT
Smart employers are aiming for better health status and functionality for their workers, which also translates into increased
productivity, says MHE Editorial Advisor Sean Sullivan, JD, president and CEO of the Institute for Health & Productivity Management,
Scottsdale, Ariz.
"Health plans finally are starting to become what health maintenance organizations were supposed to be from their inception
because their customers—the employers—have concluded that the only way to start controlling or managing costs is to get ahead
of illness instead of waiting for it to happen," Sullivan says.
"What Employers Want From Health Insurers—Now," a recent survey from PwC's Health Research Institute, confirms what Sullivan
says. Employers are interested in managing rising costs through wellness and disease management programs rather than continuing
to shift costs to employees—a tactic that has reached its limit with the American workforce.
Make Wellness Work
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Larger employers place greater importance on wellness programs than small companies do, according to the PwC research. Nearly
80% of large companies surveyed said wellness programs were important to them, compared with 50% of small companies. Both
small and large, however, said they were dissatisfied with wellness services—particularly health risk analyses—currently being
offered by insurers. Roughly one in four large employers were not satisfied with the effectiveness of their wellness programs,
and nearly twice as many (50%) small employers said they were dissatisfied, according to the report.
Nevertheless, according to the survey, two-thirds of employers see value in working wellness initiatives into their overall
personnel strategies and supporting them with incentives to participate.
"In 2009, health plans will begin to play a more active role in wellness program design, tools and support as a way to combat
soaring healthcare costs and encourage healthy behavior," Veronneau says. "An abundance of opportunity exists for health plans
to innovate in this area and create new programs for employers."
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