The Employee Benefits Practice of Willis HRH, the North American retail arm of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced it has formed a strategic alliance with Concentra, a U.S.-based national healthcare company, to offer flexible, customized solutions to improve employee health management initiatives and lower healthcare costs for Willis client companies.
By teaming up with Concentra, Willis HRH has enhanced its wellness value proposition to clients with a fresh approach to combating growing healthcare costs. Willis HRH will be able to offer a number of additional services designed to help clients strengthen their employee health management programs by addressing employee health conditions outside traditional channels.
Under the alliance, Willis HRH employee benefits clients will have the opportunity to take advantage of Concentra’s innovative worksite clinic solutions, which bring efficient and convenient healthcare services to more employees. These clinics offer extensive health and wellness services, including employee health screenings, direct health coaching, and employee engagement and education strategies. Addressing health issues at the workplace keeps routine services out of the higher-cost medical delivery system, saving money and limiting the impact of lost productivity due to time away from work. Additionally, Willis HRH clients can benefit from Concentra’s leadership position in occupational health and urgent care.
Commenting on the alliance, Jim Blaney, Willis HRH Employee Benefits Chief Growth Officer, said, “Willis HRH is dedicated to providing innovative solutions to help our clients in their quest to address rising healthcare costs. Additionally, we are focused on identifying tools that assist our clients with the broad challenges associated with workforce productivity. Working with Concentra, we are able to offer more resources, such as on-site clinics, to address preventive, routine and even acute healthcare issues, as well as complete employee engagement approaches to health, wellness and productivity. We are excited to work with an organization that brings a comprehensive approach to the table.”
Jim Greenwood, CEO of Concentra, said, “Working with companies across the country, Concentra has helped leading employers make a significant difference in the health of their workforces. Through this alliance with Willis HRH, we welcome the opportunity to offer our wide-ranging health programs to more employers. Our solutions make it easier for companies to take an active role in the health of their employees, curbing the effects of unhealthy behaviors, and furthering the growth of business operations in the U.S.”
The Willis HRH alliance with Concentra represents a new option in traditional employee healthcare benefits that improves access and affordability of medical care and preventive health services. At the same time, these programs target the behaviors and issues that lead to poor health and chronic conditions, which are the primary contributors to rising healthcare costs for employees and employers. Because these programs are customizable, Willis HRH can work with its clients to develop an offering that meets the unique needs of each client’s workforce.
