Here’s something that shouldn’t be a big surprise: America’s employers are really struggling to come to grips with federally mandated changes in health care.
Yes, I know you’re shocked to hear that, but that’s my takeaway after persusing Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Health Care Survey, a snapshot look at how more than 1,000 employers feel about their current and future health care plans and practices.
And in case anyone thinks I am being too pessimistic about this survey (and you can get a complimentary copy for yourself here), read what the very first paragraph of the Executive Summary has to say:
Legislative reform has forced employers to reconsider how they approach and administer benefits, including how to motivate employees to embrace wellness and accept responsibility for their benefit choices. The global financial crisis, coupled with ever-increasing health care costs, leaves businesses struggling to regain profitability, reduce benefit cost, and realign talent to maximize productivity.”
Aon Hewitt’s summary of key findings expands on this view.

I don’t think anyone should be surprised that businesses are struggling to get a grip on how to move ahead on health care given the huge changes that the PPACA is demanding, but the Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Health Care Survey also detailed what health care outcomes organizations would like to achieve this year:
Achieving these outcomes might be a struggle, however, as the survey also found that 56 percent of respondents say motivating participants (aka, employees) to change unhealthy behaviors is the most significant challenge to accomplishing their 2011 health care program goals. Employers surveyed also said they were concerned with the reluctance of employees to change (26 percent), the unpredictability of costs (23 percent), government regulations/compliance (22 percent), and how they would manage the health of an aging workforce (21 percent).
“Employers are spending millions of dollars annually on health care, and yet many report they do not have a specific plan for how best to manage that investment,” notes Jim Winkler, Large Employer Segment leader in the Health & Benefits Practice with Aon Hewitt, in a press release about the study. “Given the risks and opportunities presented by health care reform, it is imperative that employers develop a written strategy for controlling cost and improving health.”
One cost control strategy that seems to be gaining momentum is this — the old carrot-and-stick approach.
According to the Aon Hewitt survey, 22 percent of employers will have programs in place by the end of 2011 to reward participants for achieving specific health outcomes, and 10 percent will have similar programs to penalize participants for exhibiting unhealthy behavior. However, by 2016, 64 percent of organizations said they will add programs that reward for good health, while 46 percent said they will add programs that penalize for unhealthy outcomes.
This isn’t a surprising finding; carrot-and-stick programs like this, designed to motivate employees to focus more on improving their own health, have been around for some time, but weren’t particularly widespread. What the Aon Hewitt survey clearly shows is that in the wake of federally-mandated health care reform, these reward-and-punish programs are finally spreading and taking hold.
There’s a lot more to chew on in Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Health Care Survey, of course, and it has the kind of breath and depth you would expect from a research study done by a large global HR consultant. It shows that a lot of organizations are struggling with the changes in health care, but they are certainly not alone because many, many U.S. businesses are having a hard time getting a grip on how they move ahead now that Obamacare is becoming more of a reality. Developing a specific plan of attack seems to be critical.
“Employers are spending millions of dollars annually on health care, and yet many report they do not have a specific plan for how best to manage that investment,” notes Jim Winkler, Large Employer Segment leader in the Health & Benefits Practice with Aon Hewitt. “Given the risks and opportunities presented by health care reform, it is imperative that employers develop a written strategy for controlling cost and improving health.”