Lifestyle choices account for the majority of individual health care costs.
Count on wellness to change it.
87.5% of health care claims costs are due to an individual’s lifestyle.*
Medical costs can fall by $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and absenteeism costs fall $2.73 for every dollar spent.**
Designed to educate participants about lifestyle changes that promote wellness and prevent disease, iHealth™ is a wellness and disease management program (diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, asthma, hypertension, and coronary artery disease). Providing evidence-based health promotion and information for the purpose of proactively improving one’s overall health status and preventing disease, iHealth benefits employers, participants and payors alike by reducing medical costs as measured through healthcare utilization and claims expense.
This solution includes:
- Education about positive lifestyle changes, wellness strategies and preventive testing
- Encouraging patients to establish a medical home relationship with a primary care physician
- Providing individualized nurse coaching and disease management
Communications:
- Wellness Guidelines—outlines nationally recommended tests for good health, immunization guidelines and cancer prevention (based on age and gender).
- Customized Recommendations—Employees and family members receive general and customized (based on claims history) recommendations for important preventive screenings such as mammography, pap smears and annual wellness exams.
- Newsletters—A semi-annual newsletter, which includes seasonal information and will emphasize the management of common medical problems.
- Access to Health Information—www.iHealth.md provides health information, links to reliable sources, and a comprehensive library of health information.
While we all know that it takes an investment of time to change unhealthy habits, we believe that the benefits of impacting overall health and costs of care in the long term begin with a commitment to prevention.
*Source: Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW) Study, 2006
**Source: Workplace Wellness Programs can Generate Savings, Health Affairs
