Study casts doubts on cost benefit of workplace wellness programs

In what its authors call the most rigorous study yet of workplace wellness programs, a University of Arizona study found that the programs do not improve the bottom line for employers that use them (Source: “No quick savings from workplace wellness, study shows,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 4, 2013).

The study, which was published in the journal Health Affairs, found that while wellness programs reduced hospitalizations for employees and family members, increased outpatient costs erased savings for employers.

"The immediate payback in terms of cost is probably not going to be there," said economist Gautam Gowrisankaran of the University of Arizona at Tucson, lead author of the study. But he noted there could be other benefits not directly measured in the study, such as reduced absenteeism and higher productivity.