Employers, insurers turn to wellness as cost elixir

In the ongoing battle to control health-care costs, some area employers and health-care providers are embracing the industrywide dogma that “prevention is cheaper than treatment” and incorporating wellness programs into their health-care plans.

Most are finding that when the wellness approach is taken, everybody benefits: employees, employers and insurance companies.

A good example is the City of Loveland, which recently completed its first year under an innovative wellness program called “Healthsteps.”

“It’s a win-win situation for the employee because he is healthier and happier. The City wins because the employee performs better and has higher morale and misses less work,´ said Wynette Cerciello,…