Our clients had been experiencing double digit inflation in what we at OMC call their "sick care" costs prior to implementing our behavioral change intervention. Health risk burden assessments revealed an average of 20% of participants at high risk and 45-50% in medium risk categories. With costs of high risk participants averaging 150% more than those with low risk, and medium risk participants averaging 57% more than low risk participants, it seemed intuitive that reducing health risk burden by promoting health behavior change could save lives, money, and improve participant’s quality of life.

Wellness Works "connects" its participants to the myriad of health information and expectations stemming from everyone from the media to healthcare providers.  Our health coaches cultivate the essential motivation for change and assist the participants in determining the right "how to" for them.  And it has worked.  One client reduced their per-member costs by 16% during the first year of the program after suffering 5 years of double-digit increases.  Another client has seen a 3 to 1 ROI after the cost of the program itself and including the cost of a 15% premium reduction as an incentive for its participants.  Our clients' sustained participation rates in this one-on-one behavior change intervention range from 60% - 97%.  And with productivity losses measured at greater than 4:1 for medical care cost losses, the opportunity for savings is enormous. 

The graph below shows how one of our four clients has reduced and held growth of per employee "sick care" costs at significantly lower rates after initiating our Wellness Works program in August 2001.


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