Health as a Strategic Advantage

As the Company continues its global expansion, we understand that our workforce is our most valuable asset. The continued good health of our workforce and their families remains a priority for the Company. We remain committed to ongoing evaluation and improvement of programs that promote good health, well-being, longevity and productivity of our workforce. Since families tend to share health habits – good and bad – promoting health among our employees contributes to healthier communities.

In the U.S., health care continues to be a concern for the Company. To mitigate our health care-related costs, we are committed to health and wellness programs that maintain or increase the health status of our employees and their families. We provide resources and tools to educate employees to help them make sound choices about health care services and coverage. This will help them become better health care consumers.

We are collaborating with other large payers, health plans and government agencies by:

• Participating in regional health care quality measurement and public reporting initiatives, with potential data sharing and funding assistance from the government.
• Promoting the development of healthcare initiatives that aim to improve or change the dynamic of the healthcare marketplace.
• Developing new programs to improve the health of employees and family members who are affected by chronic diseases.

Globally, we remain committed to a comprehensive health strategy to ensure that our efforts are tailored to meet local health priorities and that our people receive quality health care when they need it. Our global health strategy highlights elements of health and wellness programs around the world including health screenings, educational programs and promotional campaigns. The identification and modification of personal health risk factors is a core element of our strategy. We continue to leverage our global strengths by improving the way we share and coordinate our health promotion programs. We use global health metrics to assess the health of our workforce and track the results of our programs. Through our U.S. and global health initiatives, we are confident we will be successful in improving the health of our workforce and managing our health care obligations.