An article published January 14 in Health Affairs reports that workplace prevention and wellness programs have a high return on investment for employers.  The authors conducted a literature review of cost savings approaches to these programs; they found that for each dollar spent on these programs, medical expenses decrease approximately $3.27 and absenteeism costs decrease by about $2.73.

Baicker, K., Culter, D. & Song, Z. (2010). Workplace wellness programs can generate savings. Health Affairs 29(2): 304-311. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.2009.0626

Authors: Katherine Baicker, David Cutler, and Zirui Song