By: Nic Hayes
“The rising cost of care for self-insured employers is really astronomical and one of the biggest management challenges that they have.”
Managing Partner; Sustainable Health Index
A 2024 Willis Towers Watson study found that the average employer healthcare cost per employee is $15,800 annually, with chronic conditions accounting for over 85% of this spend. Contributing to these costs is the fact that employers often lack insight into the root causes driving these costs and struggle to align their resources with employee needs, causing employees to start their care in the wrong place.
For Sustainable Health Index (SHI), the key to uncovering the root causes behind the health plan’s deficiencies is data. When working with employers, SHI starts with a confidential survey for employees collecting over 70 data points on their five domains. After collecting this data, SHI is then able to aggregate it to help employers identify root causes as well as assisting them in optimizing their current resources. Working with SHI allows employers to take control of these costs, driving immediate savings while building a healthier, more engaged workforce.
Root Cause Analysis
Through the data that SHI collects, they really want to understand the behaviors, beliefs, and barriers that impact health, safety, and well-being. Specifically, the survey that goes out to employees looks at five domains: disease risk, movement quality, fitness habits, nutrition, and stress. Underneath stress, they really try to understand the drivers of it by also looking at loneliness, depression, anxiety, financial stress, and major life changes.
They also collect data on the work environment. They evaluate readiness to change, perceived influence of work environment, and whether or not employees have the ability to make healthy, safe choices.
In addition to current issues, SHI can also highlight the issues that are rising before they hit the claims deck so that they can address them proactively and get people to the right starting point at the right time.
With all of this data that SHI is able to aggregate, they can show the employee a picture of their health and provide them with immediate actions they can take to help improve their lifestyle. Additionally, they can also display to the employer how their current structure is impeding their employee’s ability to make the optimal choice.
For example, a client in the transportation industry came to SHI with a rising diabetes cost. That employer required employees to be on the job for up to 30 days at a time typically in a remote location. The employer also had control over all of the operations such as the kitchen, the pantry, and the shift schedule. However, the employer was not able to see the connection between their influence and the rising diabetes cost. By partnering with SHI, they were able to uncover the impact of their influence and change organizationally, making it easier for employees to make the right choice.
With insights like these, SHI is able to guide employers to the most appropriate, most efficient, and most cost-effective pathway. And for some employers, added Jen Gamboa, “You might have to do something different than you’re doing.”
Optimizing Current Resources
Another challenge faced by employers when it comes to health care costs is evaluating vendor performance. Often point solutions are priced for the entire company; however, more often than not, the entire company does not engage with those point solutions.
“We want to make sure that we understand whether or not your current wellness program is doing what you think it should be doing and actually moving the needle on things that are going to influence health outcomes for your employees.”
Working with SHI allows employers to take a more nuanced approach to how they support and direct their employees. SHI can breakdown the data by demographics, geography, or teams and provide employers with a picture of what the priorities and needs are for that group, giving employers insight into the ROI of the point solutions they’re engaging with.
By the numbers:
Early intervention programs informed by SHI can reduce MSK costs by up to 25%
SHI identifies hidden stressor reducing absenteeism by up to 15%
A Healthier, Engaged Workforce
SHI fundamentally works to change the culture of a company by emphasizing a proactive approach to health guided by data and insights. In order to do so, engaging employees is imperative. While getting people to participate is typically challenging, SHI creates a communications package that helps employers leverage some communication strategies upfront. With materials like posters, QR codes, CEO letters, and messaging, SHI gives employees multiple avenues to see and engage with the program. With these communication efforts, SHI is able to drive up engagement rates by 40-50%.
Unlike generic wellness platforms, SHI delivers actionable insights tied to measurable outcomes. It’s not just a check-the-box engagement tool—it’s a strategic asset for cost containment and workforce health optimization.
We are proud to feature Sustainable Health Index on the Granite List.