(Press-News.org) Contact information: Warren Robak
robak@rand.org
310-451-6913
RAND Corporation
Workplace wellness programs can cut chronic illness costs
But savings for lifestyle changes are smaller
Workplace wellness programs can lower health care costs in workers with chronic diseases, but components of the programs that encourage workers to adopt healthier lifestyles may not reduce health costs or lead to lower net savings, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Examining a large employee wellness program offered by PepsiCo, researchers found that efforts to help employees manage chronic illnesses saved $3.78 in health care costs for every $1 invested in the effort.
However, the program's lifestyle management components that encourage healthy living did not deliver returns that were higher than the costs. The results are published in the January edition of the journal Health Affairs.
"The PepsiCo program provides a substantial return for the investment made in helping employees manage chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease," said Dr. Soeren Mattke, the study's senior author and a senior natural scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "But the lifestyle management component of the program -- while delivering benefits -- did not provide more savings than it cost to offer."
RAND researchers say that with any prevention effort, it is often easier to achieve cost savings in people with higher baseline spending, as found among those who participated in the PepsiCo disease management program. Interestingly, the disease management participants who also joined the lifestyle management program experienced significantly higher savings, which suggests that proper targeting can improve the financial performance of lifestyle management programs.
"While workplace wellness programs have the potential to reduce health risks and cut health care spending, employers and policymakers should not take for granted that the lifestyle management components of the programs can reduce costs or lead to savings overall," Mattke said.
Workplace health and wellness programs are becoming an increasingly common workplace benefit in the United States. The federal Affordable Care Act has several provisions designed to promote such efforts as a way to lower health care costs.
A recent RAND study conducted for the U.S. Department of Labor found that about half of U.S. employers with at least 50 workers and more than 90 percent of those with more than 50,000 workers offered a wellness program during 2012.
The current RAND study provides an assessment of over seven years of PepsiCo's Healthy Living wellness program. The program includes numerous components, including health risk assessments, on-site wellness events, lifestyle management, disease management, complex care management and a nurse advice phone line. The study evaluated the experiences of more than 67,000 workers who were eligible for the disease management or lifestyle management programs.
Researchers found that the disease management program reduced costs among participants by $136 per member per month, or $1,632 annually, driven by a 29 percent drop in hospital admissions. Among people who participated in both the disease management and lifestyle management programs, the savings were $160 per month with a 66 percent drop in hospital admissions.
People who participated in the lifestyle management program reported a small reduction in absenteeism, but there was no significant effect on health care costs.
###
Funding for the study was provided by PepsiCo. Other authors of the study are John P. Caloyeras of the Pardee RAND Graduate School, Hangsheng Liu of RAND, and Ellen Exum and Megan Broderick of PepsiCo.
RAND Health is the nation's largest independent health policy research program, with a broad research portfolio that focuses on health care costs, quality and public health preparedness, among other topics.
Workplace wellness programs can cut chronic illness costs
But savings for lifestyle changes are smaller
2014-01-07
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Biomaterials get stem cells to commit to a bony future
2014-01-07
Biomaterials get stem cells to commit to a bony future
Researchers discover exactly how calcium phosphate can coax stem cells to become bone-building cells
With the help of biomimetic matrices, a research team led by bioengineers at the University of California, ...
Green spaces deliver lasting mental health benefits
2014-01-07
Green spaces deliver lasting mental health benefits
Green space in towns and cities could lead to significant and sustained improvements in mental health, finds a new study published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology
...
Nomogram to determine individualized estimates of screen-detected prostate cancer overdiagnosis
2014-01-07
Nomogram to determine individualized estimates of screen-detected prostate cancer overdiagnosis
Using a nomogram that incorporates age, Gleason score, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at diagnosis, individual risks that a screen-detected ...
Study examines meditation programs of psychological well-being
2014-01-07
Study examines meditation programs of psychological well-being
Mindfulness meditation programs may help reduce anxiety, depression and pain in some individuals, according to a review of medical literature by Madhav Goyal, M.D., M.P.H., of The Johns Hopkins University, ...
Inverse association between alcohol consumption, multiple sclerosis
2014-01-07
Inverse association between alcohol consumption, multiple sclerosis
Drinking alcohol appears to have a dose-dependent inverse (opposite) association with the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) and researchers suggest their findings give no support to advising ...
Meditation for anxiety and depression?
2014-01-07
Meditation for anxiety and depression?
Johns Hopkins research suggests meditation may reduce symptoms
Some 30 minutes of meditation daily may improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, a new Johns Hopkins analysis of previously published research suggests.
"A ...
Newfound planet is Earth-mass but gassy
2014-01-07
Newfound planet is Earth-mass but gassy
An international team of astronomers has discovered the first Earth-mass planet that transits, or crosses in front of, its host star. KOI-314c is the lightest planet to have both its mass and ...
Piggy-backing proteins ride white blood cells to wipe out metastasizing cancer
2014-01-07
Piggy-backing proteins ride white blood cells to wipe out metastasizing cancer
ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell biomedical engineers have discovered a new way to destroy metastasizing cancer cells traveling through the bloodstream – lethal invaders that are linked to almost all ...
Brief fever common in kids given influenza, pneumococcal vaccines together
2014-01-07
Brief fever common in kids given influenza, pneumococcal vaccines together
Findings suggest utility of text messaging to monitor safety
NEW YORK, NY (Jan. 6, 2014) – Giving young children the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines together appears ...
Breastfeeding associated with lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis, according to new study
2014-01-07
Breastfeeding associated with lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis, according to new study
In a new study of over 7,000 older Chinese women published online today in the journal Rheumatology, breastfeeding – especially for a longer duration – is shown to be associated ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?
Pink skies
Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research
Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered
% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?
An app can change how you see yourself at work
NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals
New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China
Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds
Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea
New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea
Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes
Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others
Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke
Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition
Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life
Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy
Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming
Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly
Alcohol makes male flies sexy
TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income
Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression
Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring
Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs
AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders
First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes
Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows
Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission
UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages
In pancreatic cancer, a race against time
[Press-News.org] Workplace wellness programs can cut chronic illness costsBut savings for lifestyle changes are smaller