The success of employee wellness programs in reducing healthcare costs is most dependent on the participation of high-risk employees (A). At the SPHR level, wellness initiatives are evaluated based on their ability to influence claims drivers, not general engagement alone.

Healthcare costs are disproportionately driven by a relatively small percentage of high-risk individuals—employees with chronic conditions, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, or unmanaged health risks. When wellness programs successfully engage these employees in screenings, disease management, lifestyle coaching, or preventive care, organizations see measurable reductions in claims costs, absenteeism, and productivity loss.

While follow-up case management (B) is important, it only produces results if high-risk employees are actively participating. Employee satisfaction (C) and communication of risk factors (D) support engagement but do not directly reduce costs unless behavior change occurs among high-cost populations.

SPHR exam content emphasizes that wellness ROI depends on targeted risk reduction, not broad participation alone. Programs that fail to reach high-risk employees often show limited financial impact, even if overall participation rates are high.

References :

HRCI SPHR Exam Content Outline — Functional Area: Total Rewards (health and wellness programs; cost containment).

HRCI SPHR Study Guide — Measuring wellness program effectiveness and ROI.

==============