Wellness Works, When It's Available
January 8, 2008 (Des Moines, Iowa) — Although American workers believe wellness programs are helping to lower health care costs, a surprising number do not yet have access to wellness at their workplace, according to the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM. The survey shows the majority of American workers with access to wellness are not only using the programs, but indicate wellness benefits offered by their employer can be successful in reducing their own health care costs (53 percent). Beyond cost, a number of factors encourage workers to participate in wellness benefit programs ranging from better overall health (54 percent) to a chance to live a longer life (40 percent).
Workers are seeing the value of wellness programs, yet employers have been slow to fully embrace them. Just one in seven workers (14 percent) has access to educational tools and fitness center discounts and even fewer (10 percent) have on-site health screenings available through work. The index, which surveys American workers at growing businesses with 10-1,000 employees is released by the Principal Financial Group® and conducted by Harris Interactive®. These findings focusing specifically on wellness attitudes and behaviors among American workers were taken from the fourth quarter 2007 Index.
"Wellness is working and American workers realize participating in such programs won't only improve health, but will actually lower their personal health care costs. When workers become personally involved in their own wellness, workers and employers alike begin to see a big impact," said Jerry Ripperger, national practice leader of consumer health for the Principal Financial Group. "All signs point to the positive benefits of wellness programs and employees get it; yet many employers still haven't taken the leap."
For many employers, wellness programs are beginning to be viewed as an investment rather than an expense. Based on methodology validated by Milliman, Inc., an industry-leading health care consulting firm, wellness programs from Principal Wellness Company show a 2-to-1 return on investment for employers. The positive results are cumulative over time so the longer the program is in place, the more potential it has to impact an employer's bottom line. Workers often see health improvement even before financial returns become apparent.
"We've always known there is a significant return on investment to employers who implement wellness programs and now we have research to support the financial impact of wellness," noted Ripperger.
Cost is King for Participants
The survey went beyond wellness to reveal what motivates workers to select their own health insurance plan. Flexibility to choose networks, doctors and facilities within the plan is declining in importance (23 percent compared to 31 percent in 2006), while cost seems to be a driving factor. Of those surveyed, one-quarter (25 percent) made decisions based on their monthly paycheck deduction and roughly one in five (18 percent) made the decision based on the deductible amount, a significant increase from the previous year.
"Historically, health care has not been a financial decision, but we've reached the tipping point. Workers are willing to sacrifice choice and flexibility to save cash," noted Ripperger. "It's one of the first times we've seen such an emphasis on cost savings, which shows workers are increasingly considering health cost as a major factor in health care."
Health Insurance Meets Wellness
Workers were asked to rate their interest in a new employer health insurance plan which contains a wellness component. Nearly half of workers (45 percent) surveyed expressed some level of interest in a plan where workers would be required to complete a health risk assessment and wellness screening. If no illnesses or at-risk behaviors were identified, the worker would qualify for lower deductibles and co-payments. Workers with an identified illness or at-risk behavior would still qualify for the lower costs if they agreed to make any necessary health improvements by working with a wellness coach.
"The number one factor in reducing long term health care costs is to quite simply improve overall health. As workers become more focused on the cost impact of their health decisions, we have an opportunity to engage them in making permanent, positive health behavior changes by embracing wellness programs," said Ripperger. "That's something both employers and their employees can bank on."
Methodology
This Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Principal Financial Group® between October 22 to October 30, 2007 among 1,154 employees and 514 retirees. This is one in a series of quarterly studies to identify and track changes in the workplace of small and mid-sized (growing) businesses. The first Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM survey was conducted in the United States in 2000. Employees consisted of adults 18+ who work at small and mid-sized (SMB) U.S. businesses (firm size 10-10,000 employees). Retirees consisted of adults age 60+ who reported they are retired or those who are employed part-time or self-employed and have retired from a previous career. Results were weighted as needed for age by gender, education, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income). Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the entire population of adult employees working for small to mid-sized U.S. businesses and retirees. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)1 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $306 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 18.3 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
Insurance products and services issued by Principal Life Insurance Company.
1) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered trademarks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
2) As of September 30, 2007.
