Study: More employers offering wellness-program incentives

The number of major U.S. employers offering incentives to promote employer-sponsored health and wellness programs rose nearly 10 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to a recent national report.

The report finds the number of companies offering workers wellness incentives increased from 62 percent last year to 71 percent this year, says Katherine Herring Capps, one of the study's lead authors and president of Health2 Resources, a Vienna, Va.-based health-care consulting firm.

The study, released in June, was conducted on behalf of the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), both based in Washington, D.C., as well as Lyndhurst, N.J.-based IncentOne Inc.

Not only are more employers providing incentives, but more are also offering wellness programs to help achieve results, according to Capps. In the inaugural study, 72 percent of employers surveyed were using formal health and wellness programs. A year later, the figure has increased to 77 percent, the survey finds.