Wellness Incentives.

As reported by Gordian Health Solutions, the effectiveness of wellness programs in improving health and decling health care costs is directly linked to incentives -  

• the more substantial the incentives,
• the higher the success rate.

Incentives can range from tokens of achievement, such as t-shirts, water bottles and sports equipment, to more substantial financial awards, such as cash incentives or copay vouchers for the successful completion of a program.

Nationwide Insurance is seeing results from a small incentive program initiated by one of the corporation’s onsite nurses. to encourage lunchtime walking, the worker has informally launched a “shoelace program” modeled after the karate-belt color system.

Staff Members progress through the color scale until they reach “black-lace” status. the reward system has resulted in more staff members making commitments to walk during their lunch hour.

At the high end of the reward spectrum, some corporations pay cash to workers who meet wellness goals. LuK, Inc. offers workers $250 for kicking the tobacco habit and remaining smoke free for 12 months.

For logging fitness points that add up to 10 miles a month, workers are eligible for health assessments, which could lead to reward amounts of up to $225.

The most effective motivator, according to Gordian research, comes through linking participation in wellness programs directly to insurance premiums. Doing so obviously demonstrates to employees the positive effects of wellness on their own healthcare costs.

Often, the first step in linking wellness programming to insurance coverage is lowering deductibles for wellness care or eliminating deductibles altogether. By adding this benefit, businesses can encourage employees to undertake routine screenings and other procedures to respond to medical problems before they become chronic.

Early detection benefits both patient health and company healthcare costs.

Incentivizing wellness program participation with healthcare credits

More frequently, businesss are going beyond increased wellness care coverage and looking to demonstrate the importance of wellness by linking participation to employees’ bottom lines.

Worthington Industries has lately rolled out a program that allows staff members to eliminate their portion of the insurance premium by enrolling in a Healthful Options wellness program.

During the first year of the Healthy Options program, workers and their spouses complete Personal Health Assessments and health testings to determine their levels of health risks.

Nurses, dietitians and exercise specialists are available to help moderate- and high-risk participants develop individual action plans for improved health through the use of educational materials, behavior modification, telephone help from third-party program health coordinators, and formal health management programs.

By completing the assessments, employees earn their full premium credit. Because some plans at Worthington require no worker contribution, a cash award takes the place of a credit in those cases.  

During year two of the program, the wellness bar is raised slightly. to continue to receive the wellness credit, participants in the moderate- to high-risk category will be required to work at setting objectives with third-party health coordinators.

Year three raises the bar again, requiring participants to show progress in meeting goals and to continue to work with health coordinators to reach goals.

After year three, Worthington Industries employees will be on the wellness track. the corporation believes that will mean a healthier workforce and cost savings for employees and the corporation.

The well being of Worthington staff members is the foundation of this program, and both staff members and the corporation are expected to benefit from the long-term advantages of the Healthful Options Wellness Program.

While Worthington has taken a wide approach to wellness, other companies have found success in offering incentives in specific areas. Longaberger, for example, offers a discount on health care policies for employees who don’t use tobacco.

An individual worker who doesn’t use tobacco saves $7 per bi-weekly pay. for smoke-free staff members with family coverage whose families are also smoke-free, the savings increases to $14 per pay.

The next step -  Penalizing harmful behaviors

As it stands, health care is the only type of insurance that doesn’t focus on penalizing for behaviors that put the insured party at risk. With health care costs rising so dramatically, that could soon change.

Just as an accident likely raises auto insurance premiums, increasing premiums for those who engage in unhealthy behaviors is a possible next step in businesss’ attempts to manage health care costs.

Reports that employees would support this kind of action are stacking up. One Ohio company conducted an informal survey that indicated employees would consider it a morale improve when health-conscious employees were relieved of some of the burden of subsidizing care for employees who engage in behaviors that adversely affect their health.

Whether or not this type of program gains popularity, one thing is sure -  the need to control the rise in health care costs is becoming ever more pressing.

Take the first step

Whatever the strategy, from offering staff members health resources to providing incentives for healthy behaviors, employers have a real opportunity to improve morale and productivity, reduce rates of absenteeism and control health care costs through wellness.

The first step is committing to taking one, no matter what size effort is appropriate for your organization.  Big strides begin with small steps.