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Increase your productivity. Decrease your business costs. We can help you.

With healthcare costs rising at twice the rate of inflation and employer health insurance costs doubling in a decade, there is reason for concern. Fortune 500 companies are spending as much on employee health benefits as they are earning in after tax profits. In advance of Obamacare, many insurance providers are introducing insurance hikes of 20 percent per year, even among the healthy. We help you decrease those costs through cost saving wellness programs, and effective management of your employee benefits.

Tremendous benefits are gained from investing in employee wellness. Improving employee health can be one of the greatest cost savings for businesses today. As employees become healthier, claims are fewer, insurance rates drop, and employees are more productive. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every $1 companies invest in wellness there is a cost savings of $3 to $6.

Our mission is to work with you to create a climate of health and productivity, resulting in increased profitability, decreased insurance costs, reduced absenteeism, improved employee loyalty and morale, and the accomplishment of your business mission.

iWellcare helps you build this climate through:

• Customized benefits programs designed to meet your business needs, lower your costs, and assist you and your employees in understanding and optimally utilizing benefits.
• Personalized Wellness Empowerment Solutions: iWellcare provides wellness solutions with skilled professionals who instill confidence in employees to improve health and achieve goals.
• Measuring the Benefit to You: Each facet of your corporate wellness program is measured and monitored to ensure success. We assist you in tracking productivity and cost benefits of your program.

A Personal Approach

Tailored to your budget, your business needs and priorities, and to the success of each employee.
Business success is integrally tied to the efficiency and wellbeing of individual employees. We work with you to create customized solutions for each member of your team resulting in improvements in health and productivity and cost savings to you.

No capital investment is required on your part. You are not required to purchase any special equipment, or pay lease or maintenance fees.

Start up is easy. We create and manage the program based on your preferences. It isn’t necessary for you to devote your valuable time to program management. Each component of our programs are carefully planned and implemented with your bottom line results in mind.

Healthcare Challenges for Businesses

Businesses face many challenges and expenses. The largest of these expenses are tied to employee health and productivity. Employees in poor health add to business expenses through skyrocketing insurance premiums, more frequent sick days, and decreased productivity. Indirect employer costs relating to sick time usage, retention, and employees’ energy level and morale represent a substantial amount of time and money.

Health insurance is the largest, and the fastest rising business expense. The McKinsey Quarterly reported in September 2004 that health insurance costs are overtaking business profits. In 2005, total costs of providing employee health benefits exceeded Fortune 500 corporation profits. The average Fortune 500 Company may spend as much on health benefits as it earns in after tax profits.

Today our country is facing growing health concerns, the cost of which is transferred to businesses. Below are statistics illustrating current healthcare issues and how those issues are impacting your business and your bottom line:

• Healthcare costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation. Chronic illness including obesity, heart disease and diabetes accounts for 75% of health costs as reported by the American Public Health Association.
• Employer health insurance premiums increased by 6.1 percent in 2007- twice the rate of inflation. Small employers saw their premiums increase an average of 5.5 percent. Businesses with fewer than 24 workers experienced a 6.8 percent increase.
• Health insurance costs employees nearly twice what it did in 2002 (Source: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation).
• Employee-sponsored health insurance premiums in the United States are rising four times faster on average, than employee earnings since the year 2000 (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust).
• Between 2000 and 2007, average employee contribution for employer-provided health insurance has increased more than 143 percent. Average out-of-pocket costs for medications, co-payments, and deductibles rose 115 percent during the same period.
• Health insurance premiums continue to increase 9-13% annually on average.
• Total healthcare spending in 2007 was $2.3 TRILLION, $7600 per person. By the year 2016, healthcare spending is expected to reach $4.2 TRILLION, or 20 percent of GDP.
• 65% of Americans are overweight, and 33% are considered clinically obese (about 62% of women and 71% of men). This translates to more than 90 million overweight people in the Unites States! In less than 5 years, this is a 7-10% increase in the obesity rate. A Johns Hopkins University team estimated that by the year 2015, 75% of adults will be overweight and 41% obese.
• 60% of adults report they get essentially no exercise at all. Only about 15% regularly engage in vigorous physical activity.
• Employees with chronic illness or obesity have more frequent claims and greater healthcare expenses. The RAND Corporation reported that obese individuals spend more on health care than those who smoke daily or drink heavily. Annual per capita health care costs can increase $2,500 per year for obese employees.

The impact of these costs on business profitability is staggering and requires an immediate solution. Employee wellness is that solution.

The Solution

Business wellness programs offer substantial return on investment. Consider these statistics:

• For every $1 companies invest in wellness there is a cost savings of $3 to $6 (Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• The Wellness Councils of America reported a $24 return for every $1 spent on company wellness programs for businesses.
• The Art of Health Promotion reported in a 2005 survey that companies who instituted employee health and wellness programs realized a 30% reduction in medical and absenteeism costs in less than four years.
• A company’s investment of $100-$150 per employee each year to participate in an employee wellness program can save companies $300 to $450 for each employee every year as seen in reduced health expense (Source: Ron Goetzel, Director, Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies).
• Benefits and Compensation Digest reported in 2004 that on average, businesses with health promotion programs achieved the following results:
• 26% reduction in direct health care costs.
• 30% cost reduction in worker’s disability and compensation.
• 28% reduction in sick leave.
• Employees who increased exercise frequency from zero to one day per week, to more than three days per week decreased health care costs by $2,202 per year (Source: Managed Care, August 2004).
• Healthy nutrition and consistent exercise can have a substantial impact on chronic disease. A study of 3,234 individuals found that diet and exercise leading to weight loss can delay and possibly prevent type 2 diabetes (Source: National Institute of Health 2003).

The answer is obvious. Wellness programs benefit the employer through:

• Lower health care costs to the business
• Reduction in use of health care benefits
• Increased energy and work efficiency
• Increased employee loyalty and morale
• Reduced absenteeism
• Improved employee retention
• Reduced injuries on the job

The answer is obvious. Employees benefit from wellness programs through:

• Improved self-esteem
• Reduced stress
• Decrease in substance abuse
• Improved nutritional habits
• Increased interest in health maintenance and self-care
• Increased creativity and energy
• Decreased risk for diseases such as stroke, diabetes and heart disease
• Reduction in illness and injuries
• Improvement in personal fitness with increased aerobic capacity, strength, balance and flexibility
• Lowered blood pressure, cholesterol, and improved blood sugar levels
• Improved weight control

Success Case Study

In 1982, a large Houston corporation lost several top-level executives to heart disease. The corporation faced 30% increases in health care costs for the remaining workforce.
The company invested $46,000 in a wellness program that included classes in weight control, stress management, smoking cessation, nutrition and exercise. Approximately 200 employees participated in the six-month program and the results were astounding:

• 18% decline in sick pay hours
• 15% decline in total sickness-related costs
• 37% decline in total health care costs

In addition to the financial benefits, individual employee results were equally successful:

• 41% increase in exercise time
• 27% decline in smoking
• 69% of employees said they were more productive than before