Small risk reductions cover costs of health promotion
Estimating risk reduction required to break even in a health promotion program. Ozminkowski RJ, Goetzel RZ, Santoro J, Saenz BJ, Eley C, Gorsky B. Am J Health Promot. 2004. 18: 316-325.
Aim
To estimate the reduction in health risks that would be needed to break even financially following the launch of a company-based health promotion program.
Looked at
52,124 US-based employees of Motorola who had received a health risk appraisal.
How?
A 10-year financial impact model was developed using data collected in 2001 to predict the demographic make-up of the employees for the next 10 years.
Results
- The health promotion program in question had an annual cost of US$282 per employee.
- To break even on the health promotion investment (i.e. for the amount invested to match the amount saved in healthcare costs), the health risks of the employees would need to be reduced by 1.15% per year.
What does this mean?
Small shifts in risk status can easily cover the costs associated with implementing a health promotion strategy. Furthermore, company data and information from published studies can be used to estimate the risk reduction required to break even on potential health promotion programs.