EFFORTS BY A FEW employers to open their wellness programs to workers with occupational injuries could be a significant step toward the goal of developing a healthier workforce.

While there are potential pitfalls that employers should be wary of when expanding wellness efforts to include employees treated through the workers compensation system, the benefits of the move are obvious: Treating workers for occupational injuries while ignoring other health-related factors that may exacerbate the problem likely will add to ultimate costs employers face.

For example, an obese employee who sustains a work-related back injury is more likely to return to work quickly and avoid re-injuring his or her back if the obesity issue is treated in concert with the back injury.

While the benefits of adding a wellness component to workers comp may be clear, there is a downside in some states: Employers may end up paying for treatments that should not be part of a workers comp claim. The varying approaches that state regulators take in evaluating workers comp liability complicates the issue, with some states adopting a “you touch it, you buy it” approach to indemnification.

For the many employers that are self-insured for health benefits and workers comp, what pool of money is used to pay for wellness programs should not be an issue and the question of who pays for what is a deterrent to expanding wellness programs.

Regulators in all states should recognize the benefit of helping treat worker health conditions and injuries, and remove needless obstructions to adding wellness programs to workers comp.