Georgia Health Insurance and Wellness Programs

Health insurance is expensive. Employer provided health insurance in Atlanta, GA is no exception. Employers who provide health insurance for their employees could reduce health claims by providing other health incentives, such as Wellness Programs. Improving the health of its employees, employers benefit in many ways. Not only are people less likely to become sick if they are looking after their health, but the claims for health insurance are lessened. For employers in the Greater Atlanta area this has got to be a good thing.

Big firms are almost all self-insured for health insurance plans and, therefore, pay for employees' health care costs from their own coffers. Slightly more than 60% of companies with 10,000 or more employees said they had a wellness program in 2008, up from 47% in 2005, according to the MetLife survey. In 2008, the median health care cost per employee was $7,173, according to a survey by human resources consultants Watson Wyatt and employer coalition National Business Group on Health.

While it can be difficult to determine a definite return on investment, IBM tapped into the Health Management Research Center at the University of Michigan to try to analyze the program's returns. Results showed that it saved about $80 million in reduced health claims, says Joyce Young, IBM's director of well-being.

The new government is taking a close look at the health insurance industry, not just in Atlanta, Georgia, but across the country. A new tax bill will offer incentives to employers who offer wellness programs. With more wellness programs, health insurance providers in Atlanta and elsewhere may see a reduction in claims against employer health insurance.