title: Do workplace wellness programs reduce medical costs? Evidence from a Fortune 500 company.
abstract: The recent passage of the Affordable Care Act has heightened the importance of workplace wellness programs. This paper used administrative data from 2002 to 2007 for PepsiCo's self-insured plan members to evaluate the effect of its wellness program on medical costs and utilization. We used propensity score matching to identify a comparison group who were eligible for the program but did not participate. No significant changes were observed in inpatient admissions, emergency room visits, or per-member per-month (PMPM) costs. The discrepancy between our findings and those of prior studies may be due to the difference in intervention intensity or program implementation.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Hangsheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Soeren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mattke
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weinberger
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Serxner
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Caloyeras
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Exum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Evaluation; Medical cost; Wellness program; Workplace