More employers moving toward incentives to improve employee health

80% of Employers Plan to Use Financial Incentives to Encourage Participation Wellness Programs by 2012
80% of Employers Plan to Use Financial Incentives to Encourage Participation Wellness Programs by 2012

Eager to lower healthcare costs, employers are increasingly looking to incentives as a way to encourage their employees to improve their health.    According to a recent study by the National Business Group on Health, the use of financial incentives in wellness programs increased by 50% from 2009 to 2011.  By 2012, 80% of companies will be using financial incentives to get their employees to engage in wellness programs.

We are strong supporters of incentives here at incentaHEALTH (hence the name!), but we have taken a slightly different strategy for rewarding health.  Instead of providing incentives just for joining a wellness program, we believe in offering incentives based on long term behavior change that can be measured without relying on self-reported data.  This leads to a more dedicated group of participants in our programs, which is a win-win for both the employee and the employer.  Read more here about how we have combined our patented HEALTHspot kiosk with push-based coaching tools to help thousands of employees improve their health while helping their employers generate a positive return on investment for their wellness program.

 

[via USAToday]