Case Study: Ochsner Health System achieves near‑90% employee participation and reduced healthcare costs with Personify Health

Create a Measurable Employee Health Program That Lowers Healthcare Costs and Improves Employee Engagement

Ochsner Health System, a nonprofit network of eight hospitals and 38 clinics with 10,000+ employees (8,200+ self-insured), was struggling with rising healthcare costs after rapid growth. Its manual, home-grown wellness program produced only 30–40% participation and couldn’t reliably track or validate activity or health improvements, so the system needed a scalable, measurable program that would boost engagement and tie premium incentives to healthy behavior.

Ochsner deployed Virgin Pulse’s platform—activity trackers, biometric measurement stations, an online portal, and incentive-aligned premium discounts—supported by a targeted communications campaign. Participation surged to 78% within three months and reached 89% overall; 38% of enrollees qualified for premium discounts in 2012, 66% met recommended activity levels, many showed biometric gains, and Ochsner saw a $3 million reduction in employee-only medical claims in year one while overall costs remained flat.

Ochsner Health System

Dorothy Cain

System Coordinator, Employee Wellness Programs