PURPOSE: To compare changes in medical costs between participants and nonparticipants in five different health and productivity management (HPM) programs. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental pre/post intervention study. SETTING: A large financial services corporation. SUBJECTS: A cohort population of employees enrolled in medical plans (n = 49,723) [corrected]. INTERVENTION: A comprehensive HPM program, which addressed health risks, acute and chronic conditions, and psychosocial disorders from 2005 to 2007. Incentives were used to encourage health risk assessment participation in years 2 and 3. MEASURES: Program participation and medical claims data were collected for members at the end of each program year to assess the change in total costs from the baseline period. Analysis . Multivariate analyses for participation categories were conducted comparing baseline versus program year cost differences, controlling for demographics. RESULTS: All participation categories yielded a lower cost increase compared to nonparticipation and a positive return on investment (ROI) for years 2 and 3, resulting in a 2.45∶1 ROI for the combined program years. CONCLUSION: Medical cost savings exceeded program costs in a wide variety of health and productivity management programs by the second year.
PURPOSE: To compare changes in medical costs between participants and nonparticipants in five different health and productivity management (HPM) programs. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental pre/post intervention study. SETTING: A large financial services corporation. SUBJECTS: A cohort population of employees enrolled in medical plans (n = 49,723) [corrected]. INTERVENTION: A comprehensive HPM program, which addressed health risks, acute and chronic conditions, and psychosocial disorders from 2005 to 2007. Incentives were used to encourage health risk assessment participation in years 2 and 3. MEASURES: Program participation and medical claims data were collected for members at the end of each program year to assess the change in total costs from the baseline period. Analysis . Multivariate analyses for participation categories were conducted comparing baseline versus program year cost differences, controlling for demographics. RESULTS: All participation categories yielded a lower cost increase compared to nonparticipation and a positive return on investment (ROI) for years 2 and 3, resulting in a 2.45∶1 ROI for the combined program years. CONCLUSION: Medical cost savings exceeded program costs in a wide variety of health and productivity management programs by the second year.