As health insurance costs rise, more companies are creating wellness programs to keep their employees fit and healthy. Some are offering incentives for joining a gym like lowering the amount an employee pays towards insurance costs or distributing bonus checks to offset the cost of joining the gym. Some are choosing to give their employees fruit for holidays, birthdays or just to keep on hand instead of other snacks.

“We are really seeing an increase in the number of companies requesting fruit as corporate gifts,” said Jennifer Crego, the director of business development at GiftTree.com. “We just added two new value-priced fruit boxes to our gift line in order to keep up with demand.”

According to a survey conducted by Towers Perrin, health care costs for U.S. employers have increased about 6% in 2008 compared to last year. However, the news is not all bad. Companies who managed their health benefit program well and promoted health, found the cost of health care per an employee 16% less or a difference of about $1,668 per an employee than companies that didn’t.

Citibank, for example, saw a savings of $4.56 to $4.73 per dollar spent on their health management program, according to a study conducted by the Medstat Group.

“More companies are realizing how important it is to create wellness programs,” said Crego. “We kept that in mind when we developed our fruit boxes.”

About GiftTree.com:
GiftTree.com is an online retailer of premium gift baskets, wine gift baskets, unique gifts and flowers. Located in Vancouver, Washington, GiftTree.com successfully strives to offer the highest quality gifts and make the gift giving process easy and pleasant. The GiftTree.com corporate sales team is ready and available to assist in corporate purchasing decisions.

Contact:
Sarah Dunlap
GiftTree.com
800.931.3620
http://www.gifttree.com