Employers and employees
diverge sharply on how far
employers should go
The number of employers who say they
will get more directly involved in
managing the individual health of their
employees jumped 25 percentage points
from last year, reflecting a nationwide
trend to find more ways to save money in
a tightening economy, according to new
research by Hewitt Associates in the US.
However, while companies believe they
need to get more involved in keeping
their workforce healthy, employees are
less convinced.
Hewitt's survey of more than 500 U.S.
companies revealed a fundamental shift
in how they view health care. While cost
is still a big concern, for the first time,
keeping employees healthy was also
named as one of their top business and
workforce issues this year. In fact, 88
percent plan to make investments in
longer-term solutions aimed at improving
the health and productivity of their
workforce over the next three to five
years, up from 63 percent last year.
But employees may be slow to accept
the role that employers intend to play.
According to a separate Hewitt survey of
30,000 employees, while almost three
quarters (74 percent) think employers are
responsible for helping them understand
how to use their health plan, just 12
percent believe companies have a role in
helping them understand how to stay
healthy.
"With complex global economics,
legislative uncertainty, and increasing
health care cost and health care risk,
health and productivity has gone from
being viewed by employers as a cost that
needs to be managed to a critical
business investment," said Jim Winkler,
leader of Hewitt's Health Management
Consulting practice.
"As a result, companies are moving
beyond their traditional role as a provider
of health care benefits to develop holistic
programs that pinpoint the specific health
needs of their employee populations,
drive employee behavior change and
eliminate barriers to health care.
"But to ensure these steps translate into
strategic business advantage, employers
need to overcome employees' skepticism
about their intended role. Their
messages need to shift from a cost
management focus to one that helps
employees understand how improving
their health can benefit them, as well as
the company."
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People making cost-based
decisions, but some conflict with
healthy outcomes
According to Hewitt's research,
employees see a direct link between
health and financial well-being. Almost
all (95 percent) believe that taking care of
their health today will have a direct
impact on what they pay out-of-pocket for
health care in the future.
Similarly, 96 percent agree that catching
health problems at an early stage or
preventing them before they happen can
save them money.
However, while employees said they
know healthy behaviors can save them
money in the long run, many take actions
that compromise their health outcomes.
According to Hewitt's research, 88
percent claim they engage in healthy
behaviors. When asked about specific
actions they take toward living a healthy
lifestyle, less than one-half said they eat
right or exercise regularly (47 percent
and 40 percent, respectively), and only
four out of 10 (40 percent) said they do a
good job at asking for advice on how to
stay healthy.
In addition, a number of employees admit
that cost plays a role in influencing their
health behaviors. Nearly one-third (30
percent) said they did not go to the
doctor when they were sick because of
cost, and 27 percent didn't fill a
prescription given by a doctor. Almost
one in five (19 percent) stopped taking
medications before their prescription ran
out, and of those, 18 percent did so due
to finances.
Cost is also a concern for the majority of
companies, with 82 percent focusing on
cost mitigation in 2008. However, the
more traditional strategies that
companies have used in the past to help
lower costs - such as cost shifting to
employees or consumer-driven health
care - have slowed or virtually stalled.
According to Hewitt's research, while 64
percent of companies say cost shifting to
employees is currently a part of their
primary health care strategy, just 17
percent plan to make it a priority over the
next three to five years. In addition, just
20 percent currently offer an HRA and/or
HSA, and less than 6 percent plan to
adopt one in 2008.
"While employees have good intentions,
they aren't taking action - whether it's
because of costs, lack of time, or
because of the complexities in accessing
and navigating a fragmented employerprovided
health care system," said Tim
Stentiford, a principal in the
Communications practice at Hewitt.
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