Research Proposal Part 2

Draft 2

In this second draft of my research proposal, I wanted to touch on a few more topics that weren't covered extensively in my first draft. Specifically I'm going to get into some recent figures of employer-sponsored health insurance costs, and percentages of firms and employees that are covered. Understanding how much companies have to pay to cover their employees is helpful to see why so many companies are beginning to invest in wellness programs. A great study found on the Kaiser Family Foundation site gave me all sorts of stats on how many companies are currently supporting some kind of wellness program or just a health risk assessment.

Further, I wanted to get some real-life views on company wellness programs or just health benefits in general. I got the chance to talk to a family friend and my own brother who work for large companies that are known for taking care of their employees, and got to hear first hand what services/benefits are offered at the company.

Insurance Stats as of 2016

To understand why companies are beginning to venture into the world of wellness programs, I thought it would help to understand just how much employers are paying to have their employees covered by health insurance. Once we understand these numbers, we'll see why companies will do what they can to reduce their overall rates (while benefitting their employee's well-being and improving the chance they'll work for that company longer). The 2016 Employer Health Benefits survey provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides a fantastic record of all things involved in employer health insurance and benefits. Below are some of the statistics found in 2016 for employer-sponsored health insurance rates.

• In 2016, the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance are $6,435 for single coverage and $18,142 for family coverage.” “The average premium for family coverage is lower for covered workers in small firms (3-199 workers) than for workers in large firms (200 or more) ($17,546 vs. $18,395)

• On average, covered workers contribute 18% of the premium for single coverage and 30% of the premium for family coverage

• Workers in small firms contribute a higher average percentage of the premium for family coverage (39% vs. 26%) than workers in large firms

Also in this very same document were statistics on wellness, health risk assessments, and biometric screenings in firms today. This is vital information that shows the rising interest in this topic.

• 56% of firms offer health benefits to at least some of their workers

• 32% of small firms and 59% of large firms provide employees with an opportunity to complete a health risk assessment

• 54% of large firms with a health risk assessment program offer a financial incentive to encourage employees to complete the assessment

These financial incentives include:

• Lower Premium contributions or cost sharing (51% of firms)
• Eligibility for other wellness incentives (44% of firms)
• Cash, contributions to health-related savings accounts, or merchandise (60% of firms)

Biometric screening:

• Twenty percent of small firms and 53% of large firms offering health benefits offer employees the opportunity to complete biometric screening. Biometric screening is a health examination that measures an employee’s risk factors such as body weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, stress, and nutrition

Wellness Programs:

• 46% of small firms and 83% of large firms offer a program in at least one of these areas: smoking cessation; weight management; behavioral or lifestyle coaching. 

• 3% of small firms and 16% of large firms report collecting health information from employees through wearable devices such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch. 

• 42% of large firms with one of these health and wellness programs offer employees a financial incentive to participate in or complete the program.

Consumer View Points

To create a better understanding of the consumer view point of wellness programs, I asked my brother and a family friend about their current workplace programs and health benefits. My brother works for McMaster Carr, an industrial and commercial facilities supplier, as a customer service representative. Although he didn't have too much to say about any sort of wellness program, the one benefit he does utilize is the gym membership subsidy the company offers. McMaster Carr will pay the majority of a gym membership fee for YMCA affiliated gyms, and local gyms in the town. So a $45 gym membership at the YMCA only costs my brother $15 (that's about a 70% coverage by the company. Not a bad deal!

A family friend of ours works at Sage Products LLC, a manufacturer and distributor of health and personal care products for hospital and retail markets. This company has a very distinguished wellness center that is run by Indiana University. A physician's assistant and registered nurse are on staff 5 days a week, and any service provided by them cost covered employees $0. Sage uses the corporate wellness program company, Strive, which offers a variety of services to the employees including wellness consulting, health coaching, biometric & health screenings, employee fitness programs, and more. Strive uses a rewards program approach where employees collect points for getting a screening or attending a health related seminar. Employees can also connect their Fitbit trackers and receive points for reaching a certain amount of steps a day. The reward points add up to a point where employees can redeem the points for incentives like gift cards! Our friend loves the convenience of the wellness center and the rewards program and says it definitely helps cut down missed work time. Sage was recently bought out by the company Stryker as well, and several of the employees were concerned that the buy-out would take away the wellness center. But a representative told the employees that they were very impressed by the center and what it was doing for their employees and so they are keeping it!

Conclusion

With the data from the Employer Health Benefits survey and real consumer data, our story of IT Wellness Programs has grown significantly. We've covered wellness programs as stated in the Affordable Care Act, the Equal Opportunity Commission and concerns of privacy and employee, recent statistics of employer-sponsored health care, and even got some feedback on company healthcare benefits and programs courtesy of family and friends. My objective with this research is to demonstrate how these IT based wellness programs improve the health and well-being of a specific population. With a little more inquiry on the health of the office space population I believe we'll have a conclusive proposal on IT based wellness programs.

References

2016 Employer Health Benefits Survey: Summary of Findings 

Strive : Corporate Wellness Programs