Decrease Workers Compensation Costs with Wellness Programs
Wellness programs are typically used by companies as retention tools for companies with a large number of high value employees such as tech, law, and medical firms. The idea being that wellness is an investment in to reducing the costs associated with disengaged employees or high employee turnover. However, wellness programs can also have a place in the fast food industry due to the impact it can have on lowering worker compensation costs.
A study by U.S. Corporate Wellness says the “average results” of an employee wellness plan include a:
Drop in workers’ compensation and disability claims by as much as 30%
Decrease in short-term sick leave by as much as 32%
Savings of between $3 and $6 for every $1 invested
Wellness programs are known and well documented in the ability to increase the overall health of the employees as well as increase employee loyalty and job satisfaction and both of these components also have been known to improve workers compensation results. The impact is primarily felt in those injuries where a return to work would be factor. For instance if you are having a slip and fall or strain problem, a wellness program is going to have more of an impact than if your claims are primarily medical only burns and cuts. However, the impact can also be on how well the claims can be administered as well.
Healthier employees heal better from injuries and have less severe results from accidents in the first place. A 2007 study by Duke University found that workers who are morbidly obese had an indemnity costs that are 11 times higher than non-obese workers. In addition, psychological factors such as have been known to impact an employee’s healing and the resultant amount of time they spend out of work.
An employee that actively participates in the wellness programs will have a better baseline of medical information which can then allow a physician to administer better treatment plan for their injury. To the extent that the employee is using the offered health insurance as well, an employee or employer may be able to use the same provider. If the provider is known there is less distrust between the employee and the physician which can also facilitate a better treatment plan. Finally, should the employee be exaggerating the extent of the injury, this is much harder to do with a physician who has knowledge of the employee’s overall health.
Insurance Design & Placement, Inc. is seeking participants to study this phenomena further. If you are interested in learning how to improve your worker compensation losses through integration of a wellness program, contact us
