Six-year cost trends at PPG industries paralleling the introduction of health promotion programs directed at cardiovascular disease prevention

Objective: Over the past several years, PPG Industries (PPG) implemented worksite health promotion programs aimed at improving employees' health and reducing overall medical costs as well as those specific to cardiovascular disease. Methods: Using medical claims data, we examined trends in these costs among PPG employees for a 6-year period, from 2005 to 2010. Results: Overall medical costs remained relatively flat, increasing by 1.2% compounded annually, unadjusted for inflation, while inflation-adjusted costs declined by 2.9%. Comparing worksites rated "high-high" on both program implementation and leadership support with worksites scoring highly on one or none of those dimensions, the "high-high" group experienced a decreasing cost trend, whereas the "other" group showed an increase. Conclusions: The analysis suggests that PPG's efforts to reconfigure and intensify its wellness program offerings may have resulted lower health care cost trends.