The following posts are comprised of a research paper I had to do. It focuses on the American healthcare dilemma and a possible way to reduce exploding healthcare costs. All references will be posted with the last post in this series.
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Teaching People to be Well
Part 3: A Successful Model of a Wellness Program
Part 4: Creating a Culture of Wellness, the Long Term Return On Investment?
Part 5: What Could a Wellness Program for your Company Look Like?
Part 6: References
I Introduction
We are experiencing a wellness crisis. Ours is a culture that looks at health through the focus of disease management rather than teaching the fundamentals of healthy living. This culture led to obscene health care costs as it promoted unhealthy lifestyles with immediate gratification, a pill for every ill, the quick fix. The consumption of chemical laden foods, toxic products by way of slick media advertising, and a lack of physical activity are followed by a rapidly deteriorating level of public health. Epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are the results (Strohecker, 2005).
As employee healthcare costs for corporation of any size continue to climb, management can no longer ignore and be retroactively active to rising healthcare costs. Executives need to become proactive in considering to establish a viable wellness program for a companies employees. Now is the time for corporations large and small to implement a "Whole Person Wellness Program" for the 21st century pertaining to each and every employee.
Spiraling health care costs make it impossible for average families to pay for healthcare. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, national health expenditures rose to about $1.4 trillion in 2001. Roughly 95 percent of this goes to direct medical services (Walker, 2003, p. 1). Very few dollars are devoted to promoting health: just 5 percent is allocated to population wide approaches to health improvement. Clearly, the federal government is totally clueless. Medical insurance premiums continue to rise beyond affordability for the average family, with premiums approaching $1,000 a month (Strohecker, 2005). Families are looking to their employers to provide affordable health insurance. Companies, are struggling to pay employee health benefits. Corporations and employees are on their own. This research paper will present a way out of this dilemma, by showing that some companies use effective approaches to bring "out-of-control" spiraling healthcare costs under control, increasing employee productivity, employee retention, overall job satisfaction, and last but not least, corporate profit.
Next: Part 2, Teaching People to be Well
Beste Gesundheit,
Werner