Impact of Workplace Wellness-Program Participation on Medication Adherence

This paper represents the third in a series that analyzes data from a large employer, which enhanced financial incentives to encourage participation in its workplace wellness programs. As in the two prior papers, study data came from a large manufacturer based in the Midwest, but with employees located throughout the U.S. Health insurance eligibility information, medical and prescription-drug claims, as well as wellness-program-participation data were obtained for the time period 2011-2013. The study sample included 71,982 full-time active employees, 18-64 years old (as of Dec. 31, 2013), and continuously enrolled in the employer’s health plan from 2011 through 2013. The employer had offered health risk assessments (HRAs) since at least 2004 and implemented biometric screenings in 2007. Individuals’ responses to HRAs and results of biometric screenings were also obtained. This paper estimates the effect of wellness-program participation on medication adherence in six chronic conditions: hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and depression. Biometric screenings led to an average increase in medication adherence for dyslipidemia and depression. Biometric screenings had no impact on medication adherence among individuals with hypertension, congestive heart failure, or asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Participation in HRAs had no statistically significant effects on medication adherence for any of the chronic conditions examined. Improvements in medication adherence may signal forthcoming medical-cost offsets and productivity enhancements from biometric screenings. Whether or not these benefits exceed program costs is a research question worthy of future study using data on a greater number of wellness programs, over longer time periods