Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reworking Workplace Wellness: Most Common Programs Not Necessarily the Most Effective

Manasquan, N.J., USA, July 25, 2006 – Inactivity, stress, obesity, cigarettes: the combined weight of these and other unhealthy behaviors are coming down on businesses as well as workers. In fact, there have been instances where medical care costs have consumed more than half of corporate profits. To remedy this, employers and health plans are now looking to be part of the solution, making use of wellness and health promotion programs to decrease healthcare spending and raise standards of employee health.

Wellness and Health Promotion: Programs and Promotions Used by Health Plans and Employers is a complimentary executive summary examining the wellness experiences of more than 120 health plans and employers as they detailed them in a May 2006 online survey sponsored by the Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN). Every responding health plan and the majority of responding employers either offer health promotion programs or intend on initiating them in the coming year. To download this free report, please visit the HIN site.

"Many of the health issues draining company profits are directly preventable," says Melanie Matthews, HIN executive vice president and chief operating officer. "The workplace is the most logical place to begin fostering behaviors that will ensure a fitter, happier and more productive workforce."

The four-page executive summary, Wellness and Health Promotion: Programs and Promotions Used by Health Plans and Employers, includes health plans' and employers' perspectives on:

• Choosing initiatives that will generating employee participation;
• Identifying which programs are draining resources;
• Promoting programs to employers and workers; and
• Overcoming common challenges to successful wellness programs.

Web-based health and disease information is the program that responding health plans most commonly offer—93 percent said they currently have it in use. While it has benefits in cost and simplicity, however, not a single health plan referred to it as its most effective program. Meanwhile, fitness centers are used by less than a quarter of employers but commonly found to be very popular, offering the "most opportunity for participation on a consistent basis" and "convenience for employees and low cost," as two employers noted.

To download this complimentary report, please visit the HIN site.

About the Healthcare Intelligence Network – HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 292-3073, e-mail info@hin.com, or visit http://www.hin.com.

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Contact: Patricia Donovan

Voice: (888) HIN-3530
Fax: (732) 292-3073
E-mail: pdonovan@hin.com
Web site: www.hin.com