Financial Incentives and Diabetes Disease Control in Employees: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many employers offer worksite wellness programs, including financial incentives to achieve goals. Evidence supporting such programs is sparse.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether diabetes and cardiovascular risk factor control in employees improved with financial incentives for participation in disease management and for attaining goals.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using insurance claims linked with electronic medical record data from January 2008-December 2012.

PARTICIPANTS: Employee patients with diabetes covered by the organization's self-funded insurance and propensity-matched non-employee patient comparison group with diabetes and commercial insurance.

INTERVENTION: Financial incentives for employer-sponsored disease management program participation and achieving goals.

MAIN MEASURES: Change in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and weight.

RESULTS: A total of 1092 employees with diabetes were matched to non-employee patients. With increasing incentives, employee program participation increased (7 % in 2009 to 50 % in 2012, p < 0.001). Longitudinal mixed modeling demonstrated improved diabetes and cardiovascular risk factor control in employees vs. non-employees [HbA1c yearly change -0.05 employees vs. 0.00 non-employees, difference in change (DIC) p <0.001]. In their first participation year, employees had larger declines in HbA1c and weight vs. non-employees (0.33 vs. 0.14, DIC p = 0.04) and (2.3 kg vs. 0.1 kg, DIC p < 0.001), respectively. Analysis of employee cohorts corresponding with incentive offerings showed that fixed incentives (years 1 and 2) or incentives tied to goals (years 3 and 4) were not significantly associated with HbA1c reductions compared to non-employees. For each employee cohort offered incentives, SBP and LDL also did not significantly differ in employees compared with non-employees (DIC p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Financial incentives were associated with employee participation in disease management and improved cardiovascular risk factors over 5 years. Improvements occurred primarily in the first year of participation. The relative impact of specific incentives could not be discerned.