Did your health insurance premium go up?

You’re not alone. Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 for family coverage this year, with employees on average paying $3,505 of that, according to the benchmark 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.

What is the best way to keep your premiums from rising next year?

The best way to keep those premiums from rising is to reduce the number of claims. In fact, over half of our health insurance costs can be attributed to three modifiable behaviors: lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use.

Wellness programs can work to improve these behaviors in your employee population. In addition to medical benefits, wellness programs can directly impact the cost of worker’s compensation and disability claims.

However, the components indirectly affected by health improvement include overtime, recruitment, retention, productivity, work quality, performance, and work errors. It has been shown that the cost savings associated with the indirect components are two times greater than the direct costs.

Overall, the average worksite wellness ROI is a savings of $3 for every dollar spent.

By taking steps to increase your employee health, you’ll also improve their productivity.