HealthMine Consumer Wellness Report Can Guide Plan Sponsors in Wellness Programs in Light of Recent EEOC Ruling

DALLAS, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of the EEOC ruling on wellness programs, HealthMine queried 1,929 consumers to give health plan sponsors insight into member attitudes about wellness plans. The results of these surveys are now available in the first issue of the quarterly HealthMine Consumer Wellness Report. Data and analysis in this report may be useful to executives and benefits leaders in guiding the strategy and design of their wellness programs to maximize effectiveness.

HealthMine's surveys show that while most consumers enrolled in wellness programs like them and feel they help them manage their health, a majority report that they do not stay engaged in their programs throughout the year. In addition, many are unsure if their wellness programs are helping lower their healthcare costs.

Top Findings

• Consumer Engagement: Though adopted by nearly three quarters of all employers, wellness initiatives do not sustain consumer engagement; less than half of consumers report that they stay engaged in their wellness program throughout the entire year.
• Health Knowledge: Consumers lack critical information about their personal health. Less than one third know at least one of their key health metrics, which can be indicators of risk for chronic illness. For example, only 32% of people know their blood pressure. A majority of consumers report difficulty interpreting their health information, or understanding what steps they need to take to maintain or improve their health.
• Health Information Preferences: Consumers are hungry for more knowledge about their health, and have strong preferences for the types of information they would like to have at their fingertips. For instance, 85% want better information about their risk of chronic disease. Plus, the majority wants to know which cancer screenings they need, and the actions they need to maintain or improve their health.
• Employer Guidelines and Incentives: Underscoring the importance of guidelines and incentives from plan sponsors, 80% of consumers want to receive incentives for wellness. More than half want help from their plan sponsors in setting personal health goals. Even though 30% of respondents say they have been diagnosed with a chronic condition in the last year, most are not currently receiving help with disease management or medication adherence through their wellness programs.
• Healthcare Costs/Spending: Consumers are struggling not only to make meaning of health data, but also to find savings in all of the new information generated by wellness programs. While 70% of respondents say their wellness plan helps them manage their health, just 38% say it helps them manage healthcare costs. What's more, even though most consumers agree it's a good idea to shop for the best deal on medical services before taking action on their health, most never do.

HealthMine CEO and President Bryce Williams commented: "As regulations governing wellness programs take hold and the industry matures, plan sponsors can optimize their wellness programs with greater personalization and health guidance coupled with meaningful incentives. The most successful employers will help consumers more easily get and find personal relevance in their health data through personal clinical engagement."

The full report is available immediately for download.

About the HealthMine Consumer Wellness Report
This HealthMine Consumer Wellness Report draws on data collected in two surveys:

1. The HealthMine Wellness Program Member Survey of 806 consumers enrolled in an employer-sponsored wellness program, fielded from December 29-31, 2014.

2. The HealthMine Health Plan Member Survey of 1,123 consumers with employer- sponsored healthcare plans, fielded twice – first on January 29-30, 2015 and then again on March 1-2, 2015. Of respondents to this survey, 35% were also enrolled in an employer-sponsored wellness program.

The surveys were fielded by Survey Sampling International (SSI), and the margin of error is 4%. Survey Sampling International (SSI) has been the Worldwide Leader in Survey Sampling and Data Collection Solutions, across every mode, for 37 Years.

About HealthMine
HealthMine, a leading consumer health engagement company, has developed the wellness industry's first and only Personal Clinical Engagement (PCE) technology platform. HealthMine PCE automatically connects comprehensive clinical data with tailored recommendations, resources and incentives to create a personalized health portal available on any mobile device. HealthMine has more than one million users today, and has saved employers and payers more than $100 million in healthcare costs. The company, founded in 2008, is based in Dallas, Texas with offices in San Francisco, New York and Minneapolis.

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SOURCE HealthMine