Healthy trend
The July 7 Focus Section commentary ("Employers use many programs to control costs for health care") about innovative changes to the health care delivery system was right on target.
We've seen a definite trend among businesses in Texas and around the nation toward health programs and insurance products that place a greater priority on wellness and prevention to the benefit of both workers and employers.
Implementing programs that improve employee health can enhance a company's health care cost savings. According to the Partnership for Prevention, an organization representing leading CEOs, non-profits and government agencies, every dollar invested in worksite health promotion yields $3.50 to nearly $6 in savings through reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and decreased health care-related costs.
The Texas Business Group on Health has formed a new group -- the Texas Coalition for Worksite Wellness -- to raise awareness of the benefits of maintaining a healthy work force through innovative programs that give workers ready access to the tools they need to stay healthy and manage illness or chronic conditions.
Now, more than ever, Texas needs a health care system that recognizes the value -- in human capital and real dollars -- that prevention and wellness can offer.