Aetna: Wellness program achieved big ROI

But unlike many conventional wellness programs, the Aetna initiative focused only on employees most likely to incur big medical costs. Specifically, it targeted employees at risk of metabolic syndrome, which is how doctors refer to those with at least three of the following medical conditions: obesity, high blood pressure, high glucose, high triglycerides and low levels of high-density cholesterol.

The employees recruited for the study had all exhibited at least two risk factors linked to the condition. Over a year, two large groups of participating employees were compared to a large control group of employees with nearly precisely the same rate of risk factors.

Each participant was put in touch with a personal coach and a “client care manager.”

The study authors do not say how much the program cost.

Many participants who had signed up did not remain fully engaged in the program, but the participants still lost an average of ten pounds over the course of the year. The report authors suggested that the immediate benefits realized in the first year were impressive and that the benefits could become even greater in the long-term.

The authors also suggested that future studies should focus on the effect of wellness programs on employee productivity, in addition to medical costs.

“This is an important area for future investigation,” they wrote.