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A five year study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that if you “want a wellness program that slashes healthcare costs, it must include meaningful incentives and offer comprehensive services that include chronic disease management,” Human Resources Executive reports.

What made the study so unique was its length, cohort size and sophistication of methodology, which was “more profound than most health-management or wellness studies to date.”

“The study focused on two groups: an intervention group composed of 13,627 UPMC workers who were continuously enrolled in MyHealth, UPMC’s chronic disease-management and wellness program, and a comparison group consisting of 4,448 workers employed at a different healthcare organization who had UPMC Health Plan benefits, but not the MyHealth program. Participants in MyHealth were divided into three risk levels — high, medium and low — based on health factors such as weight or blood pressure activity. Those who shifted from the highest risk to lowest risk group decreased their annual medical spending by $250 a month, or $3,000 a year, while those moving from the medium-risk to low-risk group saved about $20 a month, or $250 each year.”

“The takeaway for HR, he says, is that in order to produce cost savings, wellness programs need to be designed as a comprehensive health management and support program and initially offer incentives that grab employees’ attention.”