Aon Survey: 43 Percent of Companies Have Adopted 'Formal' Disease Management or Health and Wellness Program Strategies for Their
23 Giugno 2005 - 5:40PM
PR Newswire (US)
Aon Survey: 43 Percent of Companies Have Adopted 'Formal' Disease
Management or Health and Wellness Program Strategies for Their
Workforce Obesity, Fitness and Chronic Heart Disease are Top
Concerns for HR Departments; Senior Management Realistic About
Return on Investment/Claim Savings in Year One CHICAGO, June 23
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- According to a recent survey of human
resources (HR) executives conducted by Aon Consulting, 43 percent
of the companies surveyed have adopted a formalized disease
management and health promotion/wellness strategy for employees.
Another 19 percent have been asked by senior management to explore
opportunities associated with these programs. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO ) Michele
Becker, a vice president with Aon Consulting, said, "When you
consider these results together with increased implementation of
Consumer Driven Health Plans, it's clear that senior management has
begun to embrace a more holistic approach for managing rising
health care costs. Health Management programs, which encompass
health promotion/wellness and disease management, are on the radar
screen, with much of the interest coming from our mid-market
clients. The challenge employers face is the need to balance
short-term administrative costs with a desire to impact longer-term
health care costs, reduce absence and improve productivity."
Regarding lifestyle risk, 62 percent of managers said obesity and
physical inactivity concern them the most. Another 15 percent
indicated stress as their highest priority, but only 3 percent
rated smoking as their number one concern. Becker commented, "This
is an interesting finding in light of the fact that smoking remains
the number one cause of early preventable death in the U.S." When
asked about chronic illness, heart disease was cited by 53 percent
of respondents as their most significant concern, followed by
diabetes at 11 percent. Becker stated, "The disparity between heart
disease and diabetes indicates some plan sponsors may not fully
appreciate the toll diabetes can take on hypertension, heart,
kidney and eye disease." Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of the
companies that have formal strategies in place host on-site health
screenings for employees (i.e., to check for high blood pressure or
cholesterol). Becker warns, "Information obtained through these
biometric screenings can help employees gain a better understanding
of their risk factors, and it can be used by employers to determine
what programs are most appropriate for their workforce. However,
on-site screenings are expensive and employers should research
market alternatives carefully to find high quality, cost-effective
service providers so as not to erode potential return on
investment." Fifty-two percent of managers said they are expected
to achieve return on investment (ROI) for health promotion/wellness
programs, but only 16 percent said positive ROI is expected in the
first year of the program. A reduction in health risk factors was
cited as the most important measure of program success. Other key
measures include high program participation and a reduction in
utilization (e.g., reduced emergency room and office visits). When
asked about employees who choose not to participate in health
management programs, survey respondents cited a lack of motivation
as the primary reason (41 percent), followed by employees who were
too busy to participate (21 percent), those with privacy concerns
(15 percent), and those who simply don't place a high priority on
getting healthier (12 percent). Becker concluded, "Incentives
increase participation, and high participation yields results. To
realize ROI, companies must incorporate incentives appropriate for
their workforce such as reduced contributions, wellness credits,
and deposits to flexible spending accounts." To see complete survey
results, please visit http://www.aon.com/ . About Aon Aon
Corporation (NYSE:AOC) ( http://www.aon.com/ ) is a leading
provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance
brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty
insurance underwriting. There are 47,000 employees working in Aon's
500 offices in more than 120 countries. Backed by broad resources,
industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help
a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and
workforce productivity solutions. Aon Consulting is among the top
global human resources consulting firms, with 2004 revenues of
$1.247 billion and 7,000 professionals in 120 offices throughout
the world. Aon Consulting delivers integrated consulting solutions
to help clients with employee benefits, human resources
outsourcing, compensation, communication and management consulting.
Contact: Dana Sohn, Aon Consulting, +1.312.381.4786, or Bianca
Wright, RF Binder Partners, +1.212.994.7545, This press release
contains certain statements related to future results, or states
our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the
future which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined
in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from either historical or anticipated results depending on a
variety of factors. Potential factors that could impact results
include: general economic conditions in different countries in
which we do business around the world, changes in global equity and
fixed income markets that could affect the return on invested
assets, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates that could
influence revenue and expense, rating agency actions that could
affect our ability to borrow funds, funding of our various pension
plans, changes in the competitive environment, changes in
commercial property and casualty markets and commercial premium
rates that could impact revenues, changes in revenues and earnings
due to the elimination of contingent commissions, other
uncertainties surrounding a new compensation model, the impact of
regulatory investigations brought by state attorneys general and
state insurance regulators related to our compensation arrangements
with underwriters and related issues, the impact of class actions
and individual lawsuits including client class actions, securities
class actions, derivative actions, and ERISA class actions, the
cost of resolution of other contingent liabilities and loss
contingencies, and the difference in ultimate paid claims in our
underwriting companies from actuarial estimates. Further
information concerning the Company and its business, including
factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's
financial results, is contained in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aon Corporation CONTACT:
Dana Sohn of Aon Consulting, +1-312-381-4786, , or Bianca Wright of
RF Binder Partners, +1-212-994-7545, Web site: http://www.aon.com/
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