Physically Active Employees Can Reduce Company Healthcare Costs by 35%

New York, July 26, 2023 - Healthcare costs are on the rise and companies are grappling with the ongoing challenge of managing these expenses. Wellhub, the leading corporate wellness platform, offering the best network of gyms, studios, personal trainers, and wellness apps - all in one employee benefit, today announced a groundbreaking study that showcases the transformative power of promoting an active lifestyle among employees.

The research evaluated the difference in healthcare costs for active Wellhub users compared to non-users and less active participants. The findings reveal that employees who engaged in physical activities at least five times a month resulted in a 35% decrease in company healthcare costs after a 12 month period. 

"HR leaders understand that employee health and wellbeing is directly correlated to the health of the business," said Cesar Carvalho, CEO and Co-Founder of Wellhub. "Because of this, companies are moving from focusing primarily on reactive healthcare and traditional medical benefits to more holistic and preventative wellness benefits. Now, the results of this shift are clear, with Wellhub research showing healthcare cost savings of more than 35% for physically active employees. It's a win-win for employers and employees, creating a happier, healthier workforce, while also reducing expenses.”

Wellhub is lowering the barrier to entry for anyone who wants to move, eat, sleep, and feel better by providing access to fitness and wellness partners in subscriptions that cost employees up to 50% less than traditional memberships. With over 60% of new subscribers not having a gym membership before subscribing, Wellhub more than doubles the number of employees engaged in wellness.

Without this kind of widespread engagement, there is no way to actually drive the kind of ROI most wellness offerings promise. With Wellhub, HR Leaders can improve employee wellbeing and business performance by offering a wellbeing program that employees will actually use and is proven to drive higher participation rates. They get a “plug and play” wellbeing solution that’s easy to roll out, ongoing engagement to new and existing employees that continuously supports enrollment growth, integration with the main payroll and HR systems in the market and a variety of live, digital, or on-demand wellbeing solutions to serve hybrid workforces. 

Unlike the traditional solutions which drive lower engagement, such as reimbursement programs, corporate gym memberships or in-office facilities, Wellhub creates a flexible environment where employees have access to a vast network of wellbeing options, partners, and activities for everyone’s unique wellbeing journey and needs. 

Methodology

Data analysis was performed by comparing two test groups (Wellhub users with up to 4 check-ins/month and users with more than 5 check-ins/month) and a control group (non-users). The sample included a control group of more than 17,000 employees from Wellhub’s corporate clients who are not  subscribers, and more than 2,000 employees who are active subscribers. They were grouped based on similar gender and age profiles, as well as similar healthcare expenses in the six months prior to the beginning of the study.

After forming the groups, a comparison was made between the average cost of medical care in the six months prior to the first check-in and the average cost in the six months after a 12-month period. Finally, the data was crossed with healthcare data at the individual level in Brazil from 2019 to 2022 to arrive at the final result.

This is Wellhub’s first study to correlate the regular practice of physical activity with a reduction in health care costs. Neonatal, oncology, home care, transplant and dialysis patients were not included, since their health care costs are not influenced by the practice of physical exercises.

About Wellhub

Wellhub is the most loved corporate wellness platform, offering the best network of gyms, studios, classes, personal trainers, and wellness apps - all in one employee benefit. More than 15,000 companies use Wellhub to help their employees move, eat, sleep, and feel better with access to fitness and wellness partners in subscriptions that cost up to 50% less than traditional memberships. Wellhub more than doubles the number of employees engaged with wellness. This widespread participation results in workforces that are 40% less likely to turnover and save their companies up to 35% on healthcare costs. Investing in employee wellbeing is investing in company performance. Get started at wellhub.com.