As much as 70% of costs and 80% of the incidence of chronic disease are preventable (per The New England Journal of Medicineand the World Health Organization, respectively). So it makes sense for companies to invest in prevention to save avoidable employee suffering and business costs. Incentives motivate or encourage a person to take action, and research shows they can improve lifestyle behaviours.
The fact that little has changed in the world of benefits over the last 20 or 30 years is both good and bad news. Since most plans remain generous in their coverage and funding, cost control is still a big concern, although such talk often stops well short of action. (For objective proof of this, […]
Reluctantly, I admit to being involved in and around health benefits for 25 years now. When I started underwriting, mainframe computers ruled. There were no PCs and underwriters did an awful lot of basic math using simple calculators with paper tapes bigger than many of today’s notebook PCs. However, change and progress are two different […]