Letter to Clients
Health Care Reform and Wellness: Highlights of Key Provisions
With the health care reform bill now signed into law, individuals and businesses alike are diving into the specifics, dissecting how new provisions will affect their quality of care and their pocketbooks.

While no one expects the new law to be a panacea, it is-without question-a step forward to acknowledging the role prevention and wellness play in addressing the underlying causes of poor health and rising costs.


Key wellness provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act include:

• Coverage of recommended screenings, preventive care and vaccines without co-pays or deductibles
• A $500-million Prevention and Public Health Fund increasing to $2 billion in 2015 and thereafter for a national investment in prevention and public health programs
• $200 million in federal grants to small businesses to establish workplace wellness programs
• Ability to offer premium discounts of up to 30 percent, increasing to 50 percent if appropriate, to employees for participating in a wellness program and meeting certain health-related standards
• $25 million in funding for a four-year demonstration project on childhood obesity

The new law also attempts to discourage people from consuming fatty, high-calorie foods by requiring chain restaurants to provide nutrition information on their menus.

During the past year, the contentious health care reform debate has had one constant: Everyone agrees quality health care must be more affordable. However, as many of you know, achieving lower costs is impossible without a focus on prevention, wellness and accountability.

The new wellness provisions are designed to make healthy choices easier to diverse populations and to empower individuals to become better stewards of their own health. Research validates that effective worksite-based health promotion programs already deliver results by doing just that.¹ And this is why employers-93 percent of those surveyed-say they have no plans to change or eliminate wellness offerings regardless of health care reform. ²

Going forward, we remain committed to delivering innovative, proven solutions that give you a competitive edge with healthy, productive employees and reduced health care costs. You are already leading important change within your organization, and we appreciate the opportunity to partner with you.

Yours in good health,

Gregg Lehman

¹ "Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings," HealthAffairs, published January 2010, http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/29/2/304, accessed April 6, 2010.

² "Employers Likely to Demand Results for Wellness," Employee Benefit News, http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/employers-likely-to-demand-results-for-wellness-2683086-1.html, accessed April 6, 2010.

Inside HealthFitness
HealthFitness' Director of Program Outcomes Helps to Establish Industry ROI Standards
HealthFitness' Director of Program Outcomes Earl Thompson is working with several industry groups to establish standards with return on investment methodology for health management programs.

Thompson currently is a member of the DMAA Productivity and Health Management Evaluation Methodology Committee, which is evaluating how to conduct a global ROI analysis that would integrate all conditions and all vendors into one approach. His committee is expected to make recommendations on best practices by the end of 2010.

Additionally, Thompson is attending an invitation-only event hosted by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation in Washington, D.C., in mid-May to share insights about HealthFitness' research methods. The two-day meeting will focus on building a stronger evidence base for employee wellness programs, and is being convened with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Partnership for Prevention.

Wendy Lynch, Robert Karch Join HealthFitness' Science Advisory Board
Wendy Lynch, Ph.D., an independent health care consultant with Human Capital Management Services, and Robert Karch, Ed.D., chair of the Department of Health and Fitness at American University, have joined HealthFitness' Science Advisory Board.

Lynch's career includes serving on the faculty at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and in the School of Public Health at Yale, senior scientist at Health Decisions International, vice president of Strategic Development at Human Capital Management Services, and principal and senior consultant at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Educated at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Lynch earned a doctorate in research and evaluation methodology. Lynch has applied her skills in research design and evaluation to several pivotal studies in the fields of health management, productivity assessment and human capital management.

Karch has been a member of American University faculty since 1969. He is the chair and a professor in the Department of Health and Fitness. He is also the founder and director of both the Masters of Science program in Health Promotion Management and the University's National Center for Health Fitness.

Karch teaches the two capstone courses in the graduate program, strategic planning and a research seminar course. He has authored more than 30 articles for research and lay publications, and several book chapters. Additionally, he has done extensive research in the areas of worksite health promotion and the cost and benefits of worksite health promotion programs.

Karch is a past-president and currently a member of the board of directors for the National Fitness Leaders Association, as well as a board member for the American Council on Exercise.

HealthFitness' Science Advisory Board reviews the quality and relevance of HealthFitness' products and services from scientific and technical perspectives, delivers guidance on the appropriate implementation of products and services, and provides expert peer review to HealthFitness' research programs.

Employers' Support Leads to Increased Biometric Screening and Health Coaching Growth in 2009
Demand for HealthFitness' employee health and productivity solutions grew in 2009, due to expanded interest from existing clients and targeted incentives.

During 2009, HealthFitness screened 128,909 workers. HealthFitness' standard screenings include body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar levels. Screenings take place at the worksite and results, while confidential, are uploaded to the participant's health risk assessment.

"Employers are realizing the value of a healthy work force," said Gregg O. Lehman, Ph.D., HealthFitness president. "Our clients ensure that their employees have the tools, information and coaching needed to take control of their health, and the result is a work force that is healthier, safer and more productive."

Surveys collected from more than 87,000 participants in 2009 showed 99.5 percent were satisfied with their HealthFitness screening experience. As a result of participating in the health screening, 98.2 percent said they planned to take steps toward changing unhealthy behaviors that lead to health risks.

In 2009, HealthFitness offered health advising to more than 157,418 employees-an increase of almost 70 percent over 2008. HealthFitness offers knowledgeable health advisers to participants completing a screening event or health risk assessment to interpret results, providing referrals to the health resources needed to ensure the participants' biometric numbers are in healthy ranges.

HealthFitness also grew enrollment in its EMPOWERED™ Health Coaching program by 97 percent, with 38,018 employees in 2009 actively engaged in changing behaviors. Additionally, HealthFitness had 286,764 participants complete its INSIGHT® Health Risk Assessment, an increase of 37 percent over 2008.

Industry Insights
Small Reductions in Dietary Salt Could Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes
Reducing salt in the American diet by as little as one-half teaspoon (or three grams) per day could prevent nearly 120,000 new cases of coronary heart disease (CHD), 100,000 heart attacks, and 92,000 deaths each year, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The cardiovascular benefits of reduced salt intake are estimated to be on par with the benefits from reductions in smoking, obesity, and cholesterol levels, and could save the U.S. up to $24 billion in health care costs.

Researchers derived their results from the Coronary Heart Disease Policy Model, a computer simulation of heart disease among U.S. adults that has been used by researchers to project benefits from public health interventions. The CHD Policy Model found that reducing dietary salt by three grams per day (about 1200 mg of sodium) would result in the following benefits:

• 11 percent fewer new cases of heart disease
• 13 percent fewer heart attacks
• 8 percent fewer strokes
• 4 percent fewer deaths

Source: Bibbins-Domingo, K, Chertow, GM, Coxson, PG, et. al. Projected Effect of Dietary Salt Reductions on Future Cardiovascular Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2010

Where We'll Be Next
HealthFitness looks forward to meeting you at this upcoming event.
World Health Care Congress
World Congress
April 12-14, 2010
Washington, D.C.