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Making Employee Health A Fundamental Part Of Company Culture

Dick Quinn of Quinn’s Commentary has a pithy post about why it’s hard for the government to control healthcare costs. He says:

Nobody complains about the cost of healthcare, rather they complain about their insurance premiums or their payroll deductions for health benefits.

He’s right about what politicians react to. The healthcare reform law is loaded with things that are meant to contain the price of coverage. But I would add two words to his post:

“Nobody who votes complains about the cost of healthcare.”

It’s true: The large employers who pay for much of healthcare in America complain about the cost a lot. But they are doing something about it.

In my work, I have the opportunity to present at events with some of our Fortune 500 clients. (I have one this week with The Home Depot, hosted by the National Business Group on Health. The event information here — you have to be a member of the NBGH to participate). Listening to these customers, you get a good sense of how employers are attacking this problem.

Here are the top three trends I see benefits professionals talking about:

1.  Engagement and Prevention

Doing things to help employees be enthusiastic believers in their company is high on the list of many companies’ strategic objectives. Employee benefits are an important part of that.

A senior benefits leader at a Fortune 100 employer I presented with earlier this year said his company surveyed its employees to see what they wanted in their benefits package. Number 1? That the company’s  benefits show it really cares about their well-being. Benefits professionals see health benefits as an opportunity to engage employees in their jobs. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*

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