Texas Coalition for Worksite Wellness

AUSTIN—As the regular session of the Texas Legislature draws to a close Monday, the Texas Coalition for Worksite Wellness (TCWW) has pressed for passage of key legislation aimed at improving the health of Texas workers and controlling health care costs. House Bill 1297 (HB 1297) was approved by the House and Senate. A conference committee is working out differences in Senate Bill 10 (SB 10).

“The fast growing trend of investing in employee health is increasing among Texas businesses, and now our state leaders, with their work this legislative session, have stepped up to the plate and embraced prevention and wellness, too,” said Dr. Marianne Fazen, president/CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health and leader of the Texas Coalition for Worksite Wellness.

House Public Health Committee Chairwoman Dianne White Delisi authored HB 1297 that creates an employee wellness program to improve the health, fitness and wellness of state employees.

“Representative Delisi’s legislation will encourage state employees to take steps to live healthier lifestyles, equip them with the tools and resources they need to do so, and ultimately save taxpayer dollars,” Fazen said.

SB 10, authored by Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson, offers a number of reforms aimed at curtailing Medicaid costs, including the establishment of a pilot prevention and wellness program that could include the expansion of value-added Medicaid services, including weight loss programs and smoking cessation programs.

“Smoking prevalence in the Medicaid population is higher than the general population,” said Fazen. “Tobacco-related illness is very costly, yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking cessation treatment is one of the most cost-effective health care benefits available, tied with aspirin therapy and childhood immunizations. SB 10 embraces this fact and should be passed.”

The Texas Coalition for Worksite Wellness recently released a study, authored by economist Dr. Ray Perryman, which estimates that if wellness programs are implemented for state employees and Medicaid recipients, Texas could see a net gain in economic activity of billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. The full study and fact sheet are available at TCWW’s website: www.txworksitewellness.org.

An increasing number of Texas employers are investing in prevention, wellness and value-based benefit design, according to TCWW.

“Some of our state’s most prominent companies, including H-E-B Grocery, USAA, Dell, Perot Systems and Sabre Holdings, have seen tremendous results by implementing prevention and wellness initiatives,” Fazen said. “By doing so, businesses and the state can expect to see not only reductions in unnecessary medical costs and fewer work absences due to poor health, but also substantial improvements in worker productivity.”

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TCWW, a program of the Texas Business Group on Health, brings together prominent Texas health care associations, providers and businesses, including the Texas Association of Business, Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, United Ways of Texas, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, CIGNA Healthcare, Sabre Holdings, Texas Instruments, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and others. Online at www.txworksitewellness.org.