Private Payers News

Financial Rewards Tied to Wellness Program, Beneficiary Engagement

Seventy percent of beneficiaries are interested in engaging in a wellness program with their employer-sponsored health plans.

wellness program

Source: Thinkstock

By Sara Heath

- Integrating financial rewards and social activities into wellness programs will make them more attractive to participants, ultimately improving beneficiary engagement, according to a recent survey from the UnitedHealth Group.

The survey 1,000 beneficiaries over age 18 revealed that most individuals enrolled in an employer-sponsored plan would participate in a wellness program, so long as the program had the right design.

“This year employers are expected to invest an average of more than $3.6 million on their respective well-being programs, and over 60 percent of employees are interested in engaging in these initiatives,” Rebecca Madsen, chief consumer officer at UnitedHealthcare, said in a statement.

“The UnitedHealthcare Wellness Checkup Survey provides insights that we hope can be helpful to enhance the design and implementation of well-being programs, which may help improve employees’ health, reduce absenteeism and curb care costs.”

Sixty-eight percent of respondents said creating a financial incentive of as little as $2 each day would improve their likelihood of wellness program participation.

Sixty percent said they’d be more likely to participate in a wellness program if the program offered a social component, and 67 percent said they’d be more likely to participate if the program involved their spouse or partner.

Designing wellness programs that fit beneficiary needs and preferences would likely have positive impacts for employers, the survey added. Fifty percent of respondents said a wellness program reduced their stress and 49 percent reported improved workplace productivity. Thirty-five percent said they no longer needed to take sick days after participating in a wellness program.

What’s more, 70 percent of respondents currently without access to a wellness program expressed interest in participating in one. Forty-three percent said they were “very interested” in a wellness program.

And these programs work, the survey added. Self-reports of wellness following program participation were high among survey respondents.

Over half of respondents who had previously participated in a wellness program (57 percent) reported that the program has made improvements to their health.

Eighty-two percent said the program motivated them to pay more attention to their health, while 63 percent said they increased their physical activity levels as a result of their wellness program participation.

Fifty-nine percent of participants made dietary improvements and 30 percent said they got more sleep. Just over one-quarter of respondents said program participation helped them detect a developing disease or medical condition. Eight percent of participants quit smoking through a wellness program.

The elements included in common wellness programs – primarily nutrition improvement and exercise – also rank as some of beneficiaries’ top healthcare goals in general, the survey continued. Beneficiaries foremost prioritize a healthy diet and exercise, ranking it a 4.5 out of five points.

Accessing routine medical care ranked second, followed by quitting smoking and cutting down on alcoholic intake, getting more sleep, engaging in strength or cardio training, increasing social activity, and improving mindfulness.

Beneficiaries believe their focus on wellness will result in a better aging process, the survey authors reported.

Fifty-three percent of all beneficiaries said they plan to continue their everyday activities into their 80s – 11 percent said they don’t expect everyday tasks to ever be a challenge for them.

This comes even as nearly half (42 percent) of individuals age 80 or older currently experience physical limitations.

Generation X, those ages 39 to 54, are the most optimistic about their health and longevity, while Millennials, those ages 21 to 38, are the most pessimistic.

Despite beneficiary focus on health and wellness, few actually understand the full extent of the link between patient behavior and chronic illness. Only 22 percent of respondents knew that 80 percent of their risk for chronic illness stemmed from their lifestyle choices. Specifically, only that one-fifth of beneficiaries knew that smoking or unhealthy diet could lead to heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.

To be fair, patients knew lifestyle did have some impact on chronic illness. Thirty-eight percent said they believed between 50 and 70 percent of illness risk-factors were tied to lifestyle, while 32 percent said genetics were nearly entirely to blame for chronic illness.

As beneficiaries continue to value their health and wellness, employer-sponsored plans must create mechanisms by which beneficiaries can improve. Designing the right wellness program that includes social activity, financial incentives, and patient education will ideally drive home beneficiary engagement.