Your assistant has a cough that won’t go away but keeps putting off going to the doctor. Your HR manager needs half a day off to get her annual physical. Another employee wants to check to make sure his new medication is controlling his blood pressure properly.
Each of these scenarios take place in businesses across America every day, and each doctor visit means several hours off work and pricey office visits, maybe even ER visits. That coughing assistant could be infecting others as well as getting sicker herself.
Think on-site health care is too expensive for your mid-sized business? It may be time to change your thinking. Many medium-sized businesses are using on-site wellness programs to differentiate themselves from other employers – and keep their workforce healthier while lowering expenses.
Consider this diverse group of middle-market businesses and organizations with 200-300 employees:
- Texas 811, a nonprofit based in Dallas, offers an on-site health clinic and fitness center and its 203 employees pay nothing for medical, dental and vision insurance. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and its call center handles more than 2 million requests a year.
- Another mid-sized Dallas company, Viverae provides an on-site physician and health center to help keep its 322 employees healthy.
- Insomniac Games, a gaming company in Burbank, California, pays 100% of its 206 employees insurance costs and provides on-site massage, acupuncture and a chiropractor. It also provides discounted gym memberships and an on-site basketball court, volleyball court and putting green.
- Yext, a software company with 500 employees in New York, NY, reimburses the cost of gym memberships and its wellness program includes flu shots, health diagnostics, free onsite massages and pressed juice days.
On-site health clinics include a variety of services, such as primary care provided by a nurse practioner or doctor, pharmacy and laboratory services, health coaching, vaccinations, preventive screenings and more. Some companies cover only employees while other provide health services for an employee’s whole family.
Benefits Of On-Site Health Care
In 2013, the National Center for the Middle Market polled 600 C-suite executives and HR leaders, and found that those offering wellness programs and on-site health clinics saw an increase in growth and productivity of 25%, lowered absenteeism by 22% and reduced healthcare costs by 17%.
Besides the obvious advantage of convenience, what’s the return on investment to providing on-site medical services? Middle-market companies with on-site care report many bottom-line benefits after establishing on-site health services. These include:
- Cost containment: Medcor, one of the many companies that operate on-site health clinics, reports that over 80% of its on-site clinic visits are resolved without referring patients off-site. This means its clients avoid traditional off-site medical claims. Another provider of on-site clinics, InHouse Physicians, reports its clients save $3-$6 for every dollar spent in on-site care.
- Less missed work: Healthier workers miss fewer days of work, and employees with health issues miss significantly less time away from the office to accommodate cross-town doctor’s appointment and pharmacy visits.
- Healthier workforce: Easy access to healthcare also helps those with chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma, take better care of themselves. Plus, quicker attention to minor ailments prevents things from becoming more serious and more expensive to treat.
- Tailored services: Say you run a manufacturing operation. Your on-site doctors and nurses will become familiar with the specific services needed to handle injuries unique to your business and help you reduce risks. They will also learn your benefit plans, policies and work environment in a way off-site health professional won’t. Or, if many of your employees are obese, your on-site clinic can lead a wellness program to promote exercise, better eating habits and weight loss.
While reported results vary, many companies report saving hundreds to thousands to millions of dollars a year in health care costs. These savings can go directly to your bottom line, which not only enhances your profitability but also improves the way buyers view your business when you eventually transfer ownership. A healthy, productive workforce is a real plus to buyers.
For more information, here’s an infographic from InHouse Physicians.
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