Why is Wellness not used in Workers Compensation?
...and why it should be. From our friends at the NCCI...
"The study shows that, based on Temporary Total and Permanent Total indemnity benefit payments, the duration of obese claimants is more than five times the duration of non-obese claimants, after controlling for primary ICD-9 code, injury year, U.S. state, industry, gender, and age. When Permanent Partial benefits are counted toward indemnity benefit duration as well, this multiple climbs to more than six." https://www.ncci.com/Articles/Documents/II_Obesity-2012.pdf
A recent article out of the Times that speaks to the deployment of wellness programs in the non-occupational healthcare environment is below. Since duration of lost time claims based on indemnity benefits is paramount in occupational healthcare, why would we not be doing everything we can to get people off the couch?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/your-money/the-sticks-and-carrots-of-employee-wellness-programs.html?_r=0I
think with this type of financial motivation is what is needed to make wellness stick. It would be even easier to deploy this type of methodology for workers' compensation.... "Most significantly, the law said employers could provide more rewards — or levy more surcharges, depending on how it’s framed — than they could previously: Maximum rewards or penalties now cannot exceed 30 percent of the total cost of the worker’s insurance, up from 20 percent, including both the employee’s and employer’s shares. (And if a tobacco cessation program is included, the figure rises to 50 percent). "The ability of our PEO community managing these types of programs as the W2 Employer is intriguing and will move the needle on outcomes based on a reduction in duration and utilization. Pre-accident wellness is logical, but post-accident is crucial in the goal of reducing days lost. -PH
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