HEALTH-CARE COSTS OF WORKSITE HEALTH PROMOTION PARTICIPANTS AND NON-PARTICIPANTS

Total and lifestyle-related medical care costs for employees of a majo r corporation participating in a worksite health promotion (WHP) progr am over a three-year period were compared with the costs for nonpartic ipants in a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of 8 ,334 active employees based in the Cincinnati headquarters of The Proc ter & Gamble Company, Adjusting for age and gender, participants (n = 3,993) had significantly lower health care costs (29% lower total and 36% lower lifestyle-related costs) when compared with nonparticipants (n = 4,341) in the third year of the program, Similarly, in the third year of the program, participants had significantly lower inpatient co sts, fewer hospital admissions, and fewer hospital days of care when c ompared with nonparticipants, No significant differences in costs were found between participants and nonparticipants during the first two y ears of the WHP program, Conclusions drawn from this study are that lo ng-term participation in a WHP that includes high-risk screening and i ntensive one-on-one counseling results in lower total and lifestyle-re lated health care costs, as well as lower utilization of hospital serv ices.