Last Friday, November 6, 2009 Fitcorp conducted a seminar for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on the economic benefits of corporate fitness and wellness programs. Over the past 12 months the economic climate has made companies think long and hard about wellness initiatives. What has been interesting to us at Fitcorp is that for the most part, after careful consideration, our clients have opted to continue with the wellness and fitness benefits they provide their employees through Fitcorp. They determined that the up-side far outweighed the financial burdens. It is a proven fact that many of the health problems that are driving up health care costs can be avoided through diet, exercise and other preventive health measures. By promoting exercise, nutrition, smoking cessation and other health promotion programs we can improve the quality of one’s life and dramatically reduce healthcare costs. With the increase of healthcare initiatives in discussion in our legislature, this was a hot topic that we knew would be an interesting topic for many companies.
The seminar consisted of a panel discussion led by Mike Parent, Fitcorp’s Senior Vice President. The panelists were James Blue, President and CEO of The Bostonian Group, Helen Durkin, Director of Government Relations for the International Health, Racquet Assoication, and Tina Wiskow, Sr. Benefits Project Manager, John Hancock Financial Services.
Mr. Blue discussed how companies have seen their health insurance premiums increase by over 80% since 2000. Much of these costs are attributed to illnesses that are preventable. Clearly, there is a need for employers to help their employees establish healthy lifestyles. What money that is invested in preventative healthcare and wellness is paid back exponentially.
Ms. Wiskow described the types of health promotion programs that the John Hancock Financial Services has implemented over the past 10 years. Subsidized health club memberships, health risk appraisals, walking clubs and weight loss programs have been implemented. The result has been a win/win situation for the employee and John Hancock. As a healthier workforce has had a positive impact on the company’s bottom line resulting in lower health care costs, improved productivity, fewer medical claims and reduce absenteeism.
Finally, Ms. Durkin discussed two of the legislative bills that have been proposed on the federal level. The first is the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act. Under current law, employers and employees may be discouraged from offering or using a health benefit of membership to a health club. That's because while employees are not taxed for the benefit of using an in-house workout facility, they are forced to report the benefit of a membership to an off-site fitness facility as additional income. This forces employers to deal with more IRS paperwork and increases employees' taxes for using their benefits. This act would resolve this tax inequity.
The second bill proposed in Washington is the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act, which will significantly reduce physical fitness costs for the American public, giving them a greater incentive to join a fitness facility or purchase exercise equipment. This will help individual fitness facilities by making fitness facility memberships even more affordable.
The discussion was lively and gave us all pause to consider the real benefits we provide our employees when we bring wellness and fitness into our workplaces
Fitcorp has been helping Boston’s Business Community reduce their health care costs for over 30 years. For more information on how we can help your company call Mike Parent at 617 375-5600 x114.
