Health risk assessments reduce medical bills

Health risk assessments reduce medical bills: "Wellness programs and health risk assessments can reduce individual health care costs by hundreds of dollars per year, according to a new study from Thomson Medstat, which does consulting and auditing for employers.

Medical costs were between $101 and $648 less per year for Medicare recipients who participated in an employer-sponsored wellness program and used a health risk assessment, Thomson Medstat finds.

Retirees who used a health risk assessment and one other wellness program element, such as telephone-based lifestyle management counseling or on- site medical screenings, yielded an average annual savings of $442. Using a health risk assessment with two additional elements resulted in annual savings of $569, Thomson Medstat reports. Conversely, using such services without a health risk assessment yielded savings of just $30 per year.

“Strategic health care interventions can improve senior citizens’ health and reduce health care costs,” says Ron Ozminkowski, director of health and productivity research at Thomson Medstat."