Employer health center providers should address preventive health with their members, especially since half of adults live with an unmanaged chronic illness, according to the CDC. Preventive care helps stop diseases from starting and allows providers to dig into existing health concerns that can be life-altering or deadly. Upstream care reduces the need for downstream care and helps employers and employees save on costs.
According to our data, employees are more proactive in caring for their health when their employer offers free or low-cost onsite, near-site or virtual care. Preventive care accounted for 65% of all visits to Marathon Health in 2022. And 59% of high-risk Marathon Health members made improvements in quality measures last year.
Incentives also play a role in encouraging employees to go for preventive care visits. For example, employees are more motivated to schedule a visit at their health center when they are offered a discount on their insurance premium when they receive an annual physical, comprehensive health review, biometric screening, or even a health coaching visit. Those visits can help employees develop relationships with their health center providers so they are more open to asking questions and talking about concerns. The key is to make sure employees feel supported to achieve their health and wellness goals and are encouraged to return for additional preventive visits.
