Posts Tagged ‘Watson Waytt’
Wellness Help at Work
If you’re resolving to get healthier in the new year, a good place to start is the office.
Employers and health insurers now offer full or partial coverage for everything from weight-loss advice and gym memberships to programs that help you stop smoking or reduce stress. Some companies are even giving workers financial incentives to participate.
Tom Billet, a senior consultant at consulting firm Watson Wyatt, says businesses have an interest in helping workers get and stay healthy: Every dollar they spend on preventive care saves about $2 to $3 in medical costs over the long term. “It’s not just a matter of what they save in health costs, it’s about lower absenteeism and better productivity,” he says.
At more U.S. employers, the doctor is in
Cisco Systems’ sleek new on-site health clinic looks more like a pampering day spa than a medical facility for the company’s employees and their dependents.
Patients sign in on wireless tablets. They chat with their doctors in private “care suites,” anterooms equipped with large, high-definition screens where they can view and discuss their vitals and medical information before entering the exam room. Comfortable padded exam tables, a choice of robes or gowns and an en suite bathroom help salve any indignities that await.
The clinic, which opened for patients Nov. 24 at the networking equipment-maker’s San Jose headquarters, is part of the company’s new $38 million LifeConnections Center, which also includes an employee child care center that can accommodate 400 children and a 48,000-square-foot gym.
Tags: Cerner, Cisco, Disney, Dow Chemical, Harrah's, Intel, Pitney Bowes, Take Care, Toyota, Walgreens, Watson Waytt
Workers Get Health Care at the Office
Even as employers push a greater share of rising medical costs on to workers, a growing number of companies also are providing services like free check-ups, screening exams and prescription drugs that potentially can save employees hundreds of dollars a year.
Companies say the programs also will save them money in the long run. Although a few employers have long offered on-site clinics, the trend is gathering steam as more companies expect to reduce their overall health-care spending by focusing more attention on preventing illness, including complications from such conditions as hypertension and diabetes. Companies also expect employees will be more productive if they don’t have to leave the workplace to seek medical treatment.
JM Family Enterprises has a doctor in the house to control health costs
As the election reaches fever pitch, one particularly hot button is the high cost of health care–for individuals and for employers.
JM Family Enterprises has joined a handful of companies nationwide to try a new cure: on-site employee medical clinics. JM Family has opened its own Health & Wellness Centers at its three Southeast Toyota Distributors vehicle-processing plants in Jacksonville.
The centers are each staffed by a registered nurse, a medical office specialist and one full-time physician who rotates among the three locations: at the Jacksonville Port Authority’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal, at Westlake Industrial Park, and near Baymeadows Road.
A healthy workplace
Your bosses aren’t serving you chicken soup just yet, but during this open enrollment season you’ll find they’re taking other creative steps to make sure you don’t get sick.
They might bribe you with gift cards or cash so you fill out a questionnaire to assess your health risks. They might pick up the full cost of certain prescription drugs to make sure you stay on them. Some large employers are even adding on-site medical clinics to make it easy for workers to visit a doctor or fill a prescription.
This push toward preventive care isn’t the only trend you’ll see during open enrollment. As in past years, you can probably count on higher premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. Benefits consultant Hewitt Associates predicts the average employee will see annual health care costs go up to $3,826, an 8 percent increase from a year ago.
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