Office of Inspector General
City of Chicago
Report of the Office of Inspector General:
AD VISORY CONCERNING THE CITY OF CHICAGO EMPLOYEE WELLNESS
PROGRAM
June 2015
866-1G-TIP LINE (866-448-4754)
Joseph M Ferguson Inspector General
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
City of Chicago
740 N Sedgwick Street, Suite 200
Chicago. Illinois 60654
Telephone' (773) 478-7799
lux (773)478-3949
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
June 25,2015
Dan Widawsky
Comptroller
Department of Finance
City of Chicago
121 N. LaSalle St., 7th Fl.
Chicago, IL 60602
Dear Comptroller Widawsky:
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed a review of the City's current employee wellness program, Chicago Lives Healthy (CLH). The review found that, while the City spent nearly $10.5 million1 in taxpayer resources from 2012 through 2014 to improve employee health and reduce healthcare costs through CLH, the City has not formally assessed the program's impact in either area and, at present, has no plans to do so. OIG further learned that general research on the effectiveness of employee wellness programs is inconclusive. This research highlights the need for the City to develop specific performance measurements and analysis to determine whether the substantial outlay of taxpayer resources is meeting the program and policy objectives.
The following advisory summarizes some of the prevailing approaches to employee wellness program performance measurement that the City might consider in its assessment of CLH. OIG further suggests that the City clarify its expectations for the program by setting specific health status and healthcare savings targets as well as a timeline for achieving them. Once established, the City should monitor CLH performance on an ongoing basis to ensure that the program meets the City's wellness and cost-savings objectives.
I. Chicago Lives Healthy
Rising employee healthcare costs represent one of today's many fiscal challenges for loca...
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