Employers cut back wellness programs

WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- U.S. workplace wellness programs such as smoking cessation and weight-loss efforts are being targeted for elimination by employers, experts say.

Laurel Pickering, executive director of the New York Business Group on Health, a coalition representing employers on health benefit issues, told Wednesday's USA Today that employers are eliminating the programs as a way to cope with the economic downturn.

"When (companies) are looking for something to cut, and the CFO comes to the HR people and says, 'Why should we keep this program?' it's difficult for the HR person to say, 'It's important,'" she said.

The cuts are coming as leaders such as President Barack Obama are touting the effectiveness of such programs, with company executives and union officials reportedly agreeing that workplace wellness efforts boost productive and cut back on spiraling healthcare costs.

Janet Rodriguez, a senior manager with pharmaceutical maker Pfizer Inc., told USA Today that a corporate restructuring has resulted in decreased financial incentives being offered to employees to participate in its wellness program.