How Health Plans with a Whole-person Focus Can Help Your Bottom Line

On Dec 9, 2024

By Dr. Donna Raziano, ABIM Diplomat Internal & Geriatric Medicine

Medical Director wClinical Care Transformation

For many years, health plans focused only on a person’s physical health, addressing diseases and injuries when they happened. And while physical health is a major piece of the puzzle, we now know that a person’s health is more complex and involves their whole person — including their physical, mental, emotional, and financial health.

What’s more is that these areas are interconnected, meaning if one area suffers it can impact the other areas. In fact, stress can often contribute to many chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. The key to preventing many common diseases and restoring health is addressing lifestyle behaviors such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management.

Now, it’s more important than ever for employers to take an active role in their employees’ whole-person health and well-being. When selecting a health plan, employers should look for ones with integrated resources that focus on whole-person health including:

• Behavioral health care: It’s important that plans offer both in-person and virtual support so employees can quickly connect with care that meets their specific needs.
• Preventive care: Plans that cover wellness visits, screenings, and vaccinations can help identify or prevent any conditions or diseases before they become harder to treat.
• Personalized support: Health plans shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. A good plan should offer highly personalized resources and condition-specific support tailored to each employee. Rewarding employees for healthy habits can increase member engagement and encourage healthier lifestyles.

Health plans that offer a workplace wellness program can empower your employees to make healthier lifestyle choices. Look for one that allows you to customize your program with activities and resources that support whole-person health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, workplace wellness programs can lead to 25 percent savings each on absenteeism, health care costs, and workers’ compensation and disability management claims costs.

Disclaimer: Sponsored content articles do not reflect the opinions of New Jersey Business Magazine or the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

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