Employers maintain corporate fitness programs, on-site medical clinics

Despite recent hard economic times, large businesses appear to be continuing their investment in corporate fitness programs and, in another effort to curb high health costs, on-site health centers.

The Washington Post: Corporate Fitness Programs Survive Hard Times
The number of companies with 20,000 or more employees that provided fitness centers, subsidies or discounts grew by 11 percent from a year earlier, according to a 2010 national survey by Mercer, a benefits consulting firm. Another survey, by the Society for Human Resource Management, shows that the proportion of companies offering gym benefits has held steady since 2007. During the same period, many employers were paring retirement and other financial benefits because of the recession (Bernstein, 7/4).

Los Angeles Times: More Employers Are Offering On-Site Medical Clinics
Major employers across the country, eager to curb fast-rising health care costs, are opening their own state-of-the-art health centers where doctors and nurses provide medical care to workers often just steps from their desks. The cost-cutting strategy has been embraced by dozens of companies — typically large employers that are self-insured and pay their own medical claims, including Walt Disney Co., Qualcomm Inc. and American Express Co. Many of the health centers are full-service medical offices equipped with exam rooms, X-ray machines and pharmacies. Some provide on-site appointments with dentists, dermatologists, psychiatrists and other specialists who treat life-threatening illnesses. Executives say providing in-house medical care keeps workers healthy and productive. But the clinics also help the bottom line by reducing absenteeism and slashing employers' medical bills for outside doctors and emergency rooms (Helfand, 7/3).