This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Companies Seek Outside Help On Health Costs

As the price of insurance rises, more employers are pushing wellness programs.

Healthcare costs can be expensive for a company both in money as well as time off for an employee with an extended illness. That’s why some employers have brought in wellness programs to help employees discover and treat unknown health issues, and learn how to live healthier.

Amanda Greene, a certified health education specialist with Valley Preferred in Allentown, said the cost of health insurance is driving interest in wellness programs. 

“Increase in the level of commitment in activity has quadrupled in the last three to four years,” Greene said.

One employee with a heart attack and hospital stay for surgery could incur a hospital bill for as much as $250,000, Greene said.

This expense could affect a company's insurance premiums, while possibly requiring a replacement during the employee’s medical leave. Even before a traumatic illness strikes, health issues can affect an employee’s productivity, she said.

Through health and wellness programs, “we will never know how many heart attacks we would have prevented,” Greene said, “but we can improve employee health.”

At an American Heart Association event last month, Martin Till, president of the Express-Times in Easton, said that when his company implemented a wellness program, healthcare costs dropped in four years.

The program wasn't popular at first, but three months after its implementation employees came to him and thanked him for it. They told him it “saved their lives.” Their program included information about quitting use of tobacco products and losing weight. 

“Now we have much healthier employees and a happier employer,” he said.

Till said that 80 percent of healthcare costs are related to health problems like diabetes, asthma, coronary artery disease, cardiac pulmonary edema, also known as congestive heart failure, and high blood pressure – some of which are preventable. 

 in Bethlehem developed wellness committees for each location 20 years ago. A health center for employees was set up to take care of anyone who became ill while at work, said Stephanie Dillman, coordinator of employee health at St. Luke’s. The center also offers flu shots and screenings for things like high cholesterol and blood pressure. 

In May, the hospital is starting a wellness program through AmeriHealth, said Gloria Cuadrado, assistant vice president of human resources at St. Luke’s. The purpose of the program is to educate their employees and give them other tools to manage their health. The hospital is hoping the information will be used at home, too, by the employees and their families.

Beth Gentile, director of employee benefits, said, “It expands to every aspect of your life.” 

“We would like to see an increase in office visit cost, and a decrease in hospital care,” Cuadrado said.

St. Luke’s Hospital has 7,200 employees, said Cuadrado. About 5,500 of them receive healthcare benefits through the hospital. With employee family members added to the insurance, the hospital covers about 12,000 lives, she said.

“For every $1 we spend (on the AmeriHealth program), we should save $4,” Cuadrado said. “It should pay for itself.” She expects to see a positive result in about two years.

In addition to the new wellness program, St. Luke’s holds an annual health fair for employees with screenings and monthly Lunch-n-Learn seminars. Dillman said the screenings have helped employees discover conditions they didn’t know they had, such as high blood pressure and precancerous skin lesions. 

“Some of them didn’t even know they had the risks,” Dillman said.

Denise Rader, director of network media relations at St. Luke’s, said, “Healthcare workers are very good at taking care of other people, but not themselves.”

At the Lunch-n-Learn seminars, St. Luke’s focuses on a different health issue, Dillman said. In March 2010, weight loss was the focus. Employees who went on to pursue help with weight loss took off more than 500 pounds last year, she said. 

Last April was skin cancer and healthy skin month, according to Dillman. Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala, a melanoma expert and chief of the oncology department at St. Luke’s, held a seminar for employees about skin cancer. 

All of the preventative care at St. Luke’s is free, Gentile said. Membership to the hospital’s fitness center in Bethlehem is $25, but employees can get a fitness assessment, trainer, and exercise classes for free. 

There is also a walking path at the hospital in Bethlehem, Rader said. Another path is planned for the Allentown campus.

Cuadrado added that employees do not have to pay any deductibles for office visits and medical tests such as MRIs, and cat scans are free. She said the hospital considers this a win-win because it reduces employee sick time and disabilities, reduces the incidence of preventable health issues, and reduces the hospital’s health care expenses.  

“The goal is to help our employees to get healthier, but the long term goal is to bring down healthcare costs,” Cuadrado said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?