BACKGROUND

Out of concern about the impact of chronic disease on employee health and wellbeing, employers are adopting health promotion and disease prevention strategies, commonly referred to as workplace wellness programs. Disease prevention programs aim either to prevent the onset of diseases (primary prevention) or to diagnose and treat disease at an early stage before complications occur (secondary prevention). 

The Affordable Care Act wellness regulations were finalized in 2013 and became effective for 2014 plan years. Implementing and expanding employer wellness programs may offer the country the opportunity to not only improve the health of Americans but also help control health care spending. The burden of chronic disease is escalating in the United States, as rising rates of obesity and physical inactivity are leading to an increase in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Particularly alarming is that the outbreak of chronic disease is shifting to younger-aged populations who are still participating in the labor market. This increases the economic load of chronic disease, as illness-related loss of productivity is added to the cost of medical and health care. To avoid this, employers are adopting health promotion and disease prevention strategies, taking advantage of their access to employees at a younger age where long-term adherence is easier for interventions related to health behaviors. These strategies vary from changes to the working environment, such as providing healthy food options, to interventions that support employees in adopting and sustaining healthy lifestyles. The Patient Protection and ACA supports these initiatives with various provisions intended to leverage workplace health promotion and prevention as a way to reduce the burden of chronic illness and to limit the growth of health care costs.