Health Promotion Programs Continue to Grow inPopularity Among U.S. Employers.

Business Editors

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000

Hewitt Survey Shows More Companies Are Using Education,

Incentives, Appraisals and Screenings to Reduce Health Care Costs

More employers are offering health promotion programs in an effort to

"The recent double-digit rise in health care costs have caused many employers to increase their emphasis on health promotion and health management programs," said Camille Haltom, a health care consultant with Hewitt Associates. "It's a way to control health care costs and enhance the health and productivity of employees over the long run."

     The following summarizes the various types of health promotion
initiatives that a growing number of companies are offering:

-    72 percent of companies now offer employees some kind of
     education or training, a 6 percentage point increase since 1994.
     Programs range from seminars and workshops to counseling for
     lifestyle habits that contribute to chronic or acute conditions.

-    Financial incentive and disincentive programs continue to grow in
     popularity, with 40 percent of companies offering them, compared
     to 29 percent in 1994. The most common incentives companies offer
     are gifts or monetary awards for employees who participate in
     health appraisals or screenings. Examples of disincentives
     include employers charging an employee a higher medical or life
     insurance premium if he or she is a smoker, or giving an employee
     a lower medical benefit payout if he/she was not wearing a safety
     belt while involved in a car accident, or under the influence of
     alcohol or drugs.

-    27 percent of companies administer health risk appraisals
     (questionnaires) as a way to analyze an employee's health history
     and promote early detection of preventable health conditions.
     These appraisals make employees more aware of behaviors they may
     need to change and sometimes provide suggestions for modifying
     lifestyles to lessen the risk of health problems. Most employers
     use appraisals periodically (41 percent) or annually (41
     percent).

-    Health screenings also continue to grow in popularity. Eighty-one
     percent of employers indicate they currently use screenings,
     compared to 78 percent in 1997. Most administer screenings for
     high blood pressure or cholesterol via on-site health fairs,
     mobile units or through their health plans.

-    More than three-quarters of corporations--76 percent--offer
     employees special health promotion programs such as flu
     vaccinations, well-baby/child care, and prenatal care, compared
     to 71 percent in 1996.

"We also are finding that employers are increasingly using technology, such as the Internet or Intranet, to deliver health education initiatives," added Haltom. "The technology provides convenient access for participants, can potentially increase participation in health management, and are cost-effective for employers when compared with traditional approaches."

Hewitt's survey found that fewer employers (37 percent) are currently offering classroom-based initiatives, compared to 54 percent in 1995.

Hewitt's study, which surveyed 1,020 companies, was commissioned to research the prevalence of health promotion programs among U.S. corporations. Copies of the study, Health Promotion/Managed Health Provided by Major U.S. Employers in 1999, are available for $100 from the Publications Desk at Hewitt Associates, 100 Half Day Road, Lincolnshire, IL 60069, (847) 295-5000.

Hewitt Associates LLC is a global management consulting firm specializing in human resource solutions. With 1999 revenues of nearly $1.1 billion, the firm ranked among the Top 200 of Forbes magazine's listing of the largest private companies and as the largest employee benefits consulting firm in the U.S.

Methodology Note: Hewitt Associates has modified the methodology for the calculation of some percentages in this survey. For high-level indicators, such as the number of employers offering a type of initiative (i.e., education/training, health risk appraisals, health risk assessments, incentives, special programs and other programs), Hewitt has calculated prevalence based on all employer respondents (1,020 in 1999). In prior SpecSummary reports, these percentages were calculated using only those employer respondents indicating that they offered any health management initiatives. The high-level percentages from prior years in the press release and survey have been recalculated to reflect this new methodology.