Business News

Pitney Bowes Employee Wellness Innovations Front and Center at White House Meeting

Wednesday 13. May 2009 - Company CEO Briefs President Obama on Health Care Results

Murray Martin, the Chairman, President and CEO of longstanding employee wellness pioneer Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) today met with President Barack Obama to help the President understand how the company’s “total value” approach to employee well-being has boosted productivity, enhanced employee well-being and saved money.
President Obama convened a meeting including several CEOs to highlight the ways in which progressive employers are contributing proven ideas to address the spiraling cost of health care in America. The strategy session was one component of the Administration’s overall effort to lower health care costs, expand access to health insurance, and improve the health and lifestyles of American citizens.
“We have been innovating with our employee wellness efforts for nearly two decades and are proud of our results,” Martin said following the meeting with the President. “While our number one priority has always been to enhance the health of our employees, our approach consistently delivers lower costs when compared to benchmark companies. It is truly the best of both worlds.”
Pitney Bowes takes a comprehensive view of employee well-being and has designed numerous successful programs that help employees make well-informed healthy choices. This approach includes a curriculum of online learning tools that are grouped under the “Health Care University” brand internally, with employees receiving incentives for completing various modules. At many locations, the company provides onsite medical clinics and services, onsite screenings for many potentially life-threatening conditions, and access to onsite or nearby fitness facilities. These services are all provided at low or no cost to the employees. The company’s onsite cafeterias even use differential pricing that provides a financial incentive for healthier food choices.
The medical benefits provided to employees are also designed to lead to better health and lower costs over the long term, not simply in the current year. For example, Pitney Bowes developed the counterintuitive insight that it could save money by spending more to increase the percentage that the company pays for medications for employees with chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes. The savings are generated over time as these employees become more compliant with their routine medication, and thus end up with fewer doctors’ visits, fewer emergency room visits, and fewer hospitalizations.
For its health care efforts, the company has received numerous national awards and has been the subject of widespread media coverage both in the United States and abroad. Employees consistently cite the company’s wellness initiatives as an important source of employment satisfaction with Pitney Bowes.
“We are very pleased to be able to share our successes with the President and others in the Administration,” Martin said. “Our key message is that the absolute level of spending on health care is less important than the way that the health care system is designed. A system that encourages healthy behaviors and removes barriers to treatment for those with chronic conditions is one that will, over time, lead to lower costs and a healthier population.”