Study Proves The Vitality Health Enhancement Program Cuts Healthcare Costs by Motivating Healthy Behaviors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With companies searching for ways to cut costs and increase productivity, a new longitudinal study of 374,479 working men and women confirms that the Vitality health enhancement program represents a powerful tool in the increasingly common business practice of trimming healthcare benefit costs. The data shows that programs designed with appropriate incentives deliver on the promise of lowering healthcare spending by prompting healthy habits.

“The research established that the number of members who became actively engaged in fitness activities increased by 79 percent during the testing period. More important, “The study showed that healthcare costs rose by 28.7% less for initial inactive members that became engaged versus those who remained inactive”

Stuart Slutzky, head of product development with The Vitality Group, said that research was conducted by the company’s parent organization, South Africa-based Discovery Holdings Limited, and measured how engagement in the Vitality™ health enhancement program over a five-year period impacted health insurance claims.

“The research established that the number of members who became actively engaged in fitness activities increased by 79 percent during the testing period. More important, “The study showed that healthcare costs rose by 28.7% less for initial inactive members that became engaged versus those who remained inactive,” Slutzky said.

“Given that chronic diseases account for more than three quarters of the nation’s $2.3 trillion medical care costs and that a significant share traces to lifestyle factors such as smoking, poor eating habits and the lack of physical activity, this is not surprising,” he said.¹ “Clearly, by motivating healthy behaviors that cut healthcare spending, health enhancement programs can and are contributing to increased profits and productivity.”

About The Study

The analysis covered all employees and spouses who were enrolled for a period of at least 36 months, from January 1, 2002 to June 30, 2007, and included 33,196,197 member months of data. There were 374,479 members who participated for the full period.

About The Vitality Group

The Vitality Group, Inc. offers the innovative, incentive-based Vitality™ health enhancement program to organizations and their employees throughout North America. The Vitality program provides employees with personalized rewards for engaging in activities and adopting behaviors that result in lowered health risks. Vitality has been actuarially proven to improve health, reduce healthcare costs, and generate a positive return on investment (ROI) for corporations. It is the only program that offers a guarantee of positive ROI.

The Vitality Group is a member of Discovery Holdings Limited, a publicly traded company with over $3 billion in annual revenues, which pioneered the development of Vitality. With over 1.5 million members across the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa, Vitality is the most experienced incentive-based health enhancement program in the world. Early adopters in the United States include Alcon, AOL, Aspirus, General Growth Properties, and Lenovo. Clients in South Africa and the United Kingdom include Bloomberg, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Dell, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Kraft, McDonalds, Microsoft, MTV, Nike, Oracle, and Samsung. For more information, visit www.PowerofVitality.com.

¹ Data analysis by the Centers for Disease Control