2013 Survey Results

_____________________________________________________

Wellness Benefits

Introduction • Stability is the watchword in this year’s wellness benefits

survey, despite the swirling uncertainty of the past several months.

• After a year fraught with anxiety over a still torpid economy coupled with a sea change stemming from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many wondered whether employers would continue participating in wellness programs in the same numbers.

• However, survey results show that interest in wellness programs remains high, as more than three-quarters of respondents are offering a wellness program or are considering it.

• Other certainties remain as well: Offering comprehensive benefit packages is still a great way to attract and retain high-quality employees. But with the rising cost of health care, it can be difficult. Many employers have chosen to offer wellness benefits and programs in addition to their health care plans in an effort to promote healthy habits among employees and decrease employee medical claims.

• The results of this year’s Wellness Benefits Survey will help you get a feel for how employers across the country are using wellness programs, and what they are experiencing as a result.

• The purpose of this survey was to discover the current trends in wellness programs and gauge future employer needs as more companies include wellness benefits in their overall health plans.

• A total of 1,282 respondents completed this survey.

Table of Contents

• Demographics………………………..3

• Your Health Plan…………………….5

• Your Wellness Program………….6

• Use of Incentives…………………..8

• Wellness Staff………………………..9

• The Seven Cs………………………...10

• Wellness Program Needs………11

• Health Risk Assessments……….12

• Disease Management……………13

12% 8%

8%

16% 18%

5%

6%

10%

17%

Demographics

This survey was completed by employers in all

50 states and the District of Columbia. Like last

year, the overwhelming majority of survey

responders were from organizations employing

fewer than 500 employees.

In which region is your organization based

(the most employees)?

How many employees does your organization

employ?

_____________________________________________________

What is your organization’s annual revenue?

_____________________________________________________

In which industry/sector does your

organization operate?

97% Yes

No 3%

Do you plan to make any changes to the funding

mechanism for your primary health plan in the

next year?

Your Health Plan

Almost 100 percent of respondents are offering

health benefits to their employees. Of those, 60

percent are likely to ask their employees to pay

more for the health insurance in 2014. Fifty-

three percent of respondents find workplace

wellness programs to be a least a somewhat

effective way of helping employers control the

increasing costs of health insurance.

____________________________________________________

Please indicate the likelihood of making changes to your health plan in the next year.

Very Likely

Somewhat Likely

Not Too Likely

Not at All Likely

Don’t Know

Increase the amount employees pay for health insurance 25% 35% 20% 13% 7%

Increase the amount that employees pay for deductibles 10% 26% 40% 16% 7%

Increase the amount employees pay for office visits, copays or coinsurance

6% 24% 44% 17% 9%

Increase the amount employees pay for prescription drugs 5% 22% 47% 17% 9%

Drop coverage completely 1% 1% 12% 79% 6%

Introduce tiered networks for office visits or hospital stays 3% 14% 31% 32% 19%

Offer high-deductible health plan with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement

16% 15% 23% 34% 13%

Offer HSA-qualified high-deductible health plan 25% 12% 20% 32% 12%

Very Effective Somewhat

Effective

Not Too

Effective

Not Effective at

All

Don’t

Know

Workplace

wellness

programs 12% 41% 15% 13%

28%

Disease

management

programs 10% 35% 16% 3%

37%

Consumer-

driven health

plans (ex.

HDHP

combined with

an HSA)

9% 31% 14% 3%

43%

Higher

employee cost

sharing

8% 35% 24% 7%

26%

Tighter

managed care

networks

4% 25% 25% 6%

40%

Smoking

cessation

programs 12% 30% 19% 5%

34%

Your Wellness Program There remains a high level of interest in workplace wellness programs, with 78 percent of respondents currently using or considering a wellness program, which is slightly more than in 2012. The top two reasons for implementing a wellness program are improving employee health or reducing absenteeism, and decreasing health care costs, in line with last year’s findings. Seventy percent expect a reduction of health care costs resulting from the implementation of a wellness program, 5 percent more than last year. Of all respondents, 72 percent believe their wellness program has been successful in improving the overall health of their employees, down from 75 percent in 2012. The most popular workplace wellness programs are health risk assessments, workplace wellness competitions, and distributing a health and wellness newsletter. _____________________________________________________________ Has your organization moved towards a focus on improving

employee health through wellness programs?

____________________________________________ Due to the Affordable Care Act's regulations

concerning wellness programs, my

organization is:

What top three factors influenced your decision to

implement a workplace wellness program?

Do you expect that your wellness program will reduce your overall health care costs?

If you have seen a reduction in costs as a

result of your wellness initiative, where have

you realized a savings?

_________________________________________________

72% Yes

No

28%

Do you think that your wellness program has been

successful in improving the overall health of your

employees?

What types of programs do you offer as part of your

wellness initiative?

__________________________________________________________

Use of Incentives

Studies show that incentives often increase wellness

program participation and can play a significant role in

determining the overall success of a workplace wellness

program. Sixty-two percent of respondents understand

this and are now using incentives in their wellness

programs, up nine points from the previous year.

62% Yes

No 38%

____________________________________________________________

Do you offer an incentive for participation in your

wellness programs?

If so, what type of participation incentives do

you offer?

______________________________________________________

Wellness Staff

This year’s survey reveals that employers are still

reluctant to hire additional staff for their wellness

programs, with only 14 percent willing to bring in

trained individuals to administer the program, down

from 15 percent last year.

Additionally, employers are dedicating slightly less time

for wellness administration as compared to 2012 survey

data.

_____________________________________________________________

86% No

Yes 14%

Have you hired any trained staff to run your

wellness program?

If so, what is their background?

______________________________________________________

If you have not hired a professional to

specifically run your wellness program,

who assists with your program?

________________________________________________

What percentage of a full-time position is

allocated to wellness?

________________________________________________

The Seven C’s

_____________________________________________

The Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA),

an organization dedicated to the promotion of

worksite wellness, has identified the seven

best practices (The Seven C’s) for employers

to follow when building a comprehensive,

effective worksite wellness program within

their organization. The seven steps are:

1. Capture senior level support.

2. Create a wellness team.

3. Collect data that will drive your

health initiatives.

4. Craft an annual operating plan.

5. Choose appropriate health

initiatives.

6. Create a supportive environment.

7. Consistently evaluate your

outcomes.

Your broker has resources to help you to

implement the WELCOA best practices.

87% Yes

No 13%

Have you captured senior level support for your

wellness program within your organization?

53% Yes

No 47%

Have you created a wellness team within your

organization?

52% Yes

No 48%

Have you collected and analyzed data to drive what

health initiatives you offer as part of your wellness

program?

69% No

Yes 31%

Have you crafted an operating plan to guide and

support your wellness initiatives?

67% Yes

No 33%

Have you created a supportive wellness environment?

55% Yes

No 45%

Do you evaluate the outcomes of your wellness

initiatives?

What evaluation methods do you use?

Please check all that apply.

_______________________________________________________

Wellness Program Needs

Aside from the barriers of time and money, lack of

employee participation is frequently the reason

wellness programs fail. Though there was a small

growth in overall participation since 2012, 67 percent

of employers that offer wellness programs still have

employee participation levels at or below 50 percent.

To combat these statistics, employers are devoting

more money to wellness programs. The survey shows

an increase of 5 percentage points in employers that

are spending $50 or more per employee on wellness

programs.

__________________________________________________________

What percentage of your employees

participates in company-sponsored wellness

programs?

What is your annual budget per employee per

year for the wellness program?

______________________________________________________

What is the biggest barrier you encounter

regarding wellness programming?

_____________________________________________________

What are your greatest areas of need with

regard to wellness program resources in the

next two years?

_________________________________________________

In the past year, have you done any of the

following?

_____________________________________________________

Health Risk Assessments

A health risk assessment is a technique for

determining the presence of disease and

estimating the risk that someone with certain

characteristics will develop disease within a

given time span. It can be used by employers

to identify major organization-wide health

problems. In 2013, the percent of employers

offering a health risk assessment remained at

36 percent (the same as in 2012), while the

percentage of employers leveraging these

assessments to encourage wellness program

participation fell by one point.

64% No

Yes

36%

Do you give your employees the option of completing a

health risk assessment to help them to identify potential

health risks?

53% No

Yes

47%

Do you offer a financial incentive to employees

who complete a health risk assessment?

59% Yes

No

41%

Do you use your health risk assessment as a way

to encourage participation in your wellness

program?

Do you offer any of the following biometric

screening programs?

___________________________________________________

Disease Management

Disease management means reducing

health care costs and improving the quality

of life for individuals with chronic diseases

by preventing or minimizing the effects of

those diseases through integrative care.

Diabetes, cholesterol and high blood

pressure are popular disease management

programs.

The number of employers including disease

management as part of their health plan

offerings decreased by 3 percentage points

in 2013. The most popular disease

management programs remain treatments

for diabetes, high cholesterol and

hypertension.

What types of disease management

programs do you offer?

_________________________________________________

70% No

Yes

30%

Do you include disease management in any of your

health plan offerings?

96% No

Yes

4%

Do you offer financial incentives to employees

who participate in disease management programs?

Do you have an employee assistance program?

51% Yes

No

49%

Contact BB&T Insurance Services to discuss how these

survey results and this benchmarking information can assist you in your future

benefit plan strategies.

This survey was conducted in the summer of 2013 through the website provided by BB&T Insurance Services. The survey was anonymous, so responses have not been validated for statistical significance or margin of error. © 2013 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.