Monday, January 30, 2012

No Smokers Allowed, Higher Premiums for Overweight Individuals, Mandatory Blood Pressure Tracking . . . These are Just Some of the Wellness Initiatives Employers are Implementing in an Effort to Combat Rising Health Care Costs

Employers across the country are making headlines with the methods they are employing to reduce health care costs and improve the health and productivity of their employees.  
  • Tobacco-free hiring policies will apply at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio, when it opens later this year, according to a January 6, 2012 article in USA Today. Likewise, the Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania begins its nicotine-free hiring next month.  The article also reports that Idaho's Central District Health Department voted last month to stop hiring smokers.
  • The Cleveland Clinic takes wellness very seriously as reported by Ezra Klein’s WONKBLOG in the Washington Post on October 16, 2011. Having instituted wellness initiatives as far back as 2005, the clinic now tracks its employees’ blood pressure, lipids, blood sugar, weight and smoking habits. Employees with abnormal results are required to take steps to get their health issues under control or lose insurance rebates.  
  • Even the government is looking at wellness incentives as a way to save money.  In April 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported that Arizona’s governor is proposing a $50 fee on smokers and on obese enrollees in the state's Medicaid program.
With a health crisis looming, both in terms of money spent on health care—premiums have risen 131 percent since 2001 according to the Kaiser Foundation—and in the increasing health issues facing Americans—if Americans do nothing to improve their health, it is projected that by 2023 there will be a 42 percent increase in cases of the seven chronic diseases and a whopping $4.2 trillion in treatment costs and lost economic output—what is an employer to do?

Many employers that roll out wellness programs provide incentives for participation, such as gift cards or cash prizes.  While this may still be the case in the coming years, you may also see more employers moving forward with a stick approach.  I expect that in an effort to save money on escalating insurance costs, many companies will tie health insurance premiums and rebates to participation in personal health assessments, screenings by doctors, maintaining a healthy weight, keeping pre-existing medical conditions under control and steering clear of nicotine products. 

The Cleveland Clinic is a prime example of how well this approach can work.  Since 2005, their workforce has lost a collective 250,000 pounds, blood pressure has been reduced, smoking has declined from 15.4 to 6.8 percent of employees, and health care costs are down.

Has your company instituted penalties for unhealthy workers?  If so, what have you done and what are the results?  If you have not yet taken these steps, are you considering do so?

The Wellness Workdays Team is here to help your employees give up smoking forever! Freshstart® is a group-based tobacco cessation support program offered by the American Cancer Society. The Coaches / Certified Cessation Counselors at Wellness Workdays are trained to help your employees plan a successful quit attempt by providing essential information, skills for coping with cravings and group support. For more information and to get started, visit www.wellnessworkdays.com
 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Health Risk Assessments: Only a Piece of the Puzzle

You may have been asked to take a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) or Personal health Assessment (PHA) or you may be the one putting forth the policy at your organization—either way, by now most employees and employers are familiar with Health Risk Assessments. According to the National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, conducted by Mercer in November 2011, more than 70% of large employers and 34% of smaller employers offer Health Risk Assessments to their employees.

A recent article in Employee Benefit News, Companies find health risk assessments a waste of time, money is based on a survey of 25 large employers (3,000 to 300,000 employees) and only tells part of the story. The HRA can be very effective if used as part of a comprehensive wellness plan.

It’s important to note that an HRA is a tool that evaluates employee health risks. It cannot replace screenings for conditions such as cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes; and it cannot provide a health diagnosis. It is designed to identify risk factors and should be used in conjunction with health screenings and other initiatives.

The HRA is not a one-time tool—it needs to be administered periodically so that employees can monitor and track their progress. Used in isolation, an HRA is not enough for employers to realize a reduction in health care costs. Used in combination with other measures, the HRA is a key component in developing a comprehensive wellness program and offers significant benefits for both individuals and their employers.  

Individual Benefits Derived from an HRA
  •  Identifies health risk factors
  • Raises awareness of risks and the consequences of not making positive health changes
  • May prompt employees to seek additional screenings (cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.
  • Allows employees to monitor their health risks over time
  •  May prompt employees to adopt healthy behaviors thereby reducing health risks

Organizational Benefits Derived from an HRA
  • Identifies employee health risk factors, including preventable health risks
  • Measures absenteeism and presenteeism
  • Can predict health care costs
  • Provides insight into employees’ willingness to change 
  •  Identifies health needs/risks that can be used to design a wellness program
  • Monitors employees’ health and changes in health risk status
  • Measures the success of wellness programs by comparing data from year to year  
  • Identifies moderate or high risk individuals for referrals to specific programs or carrier intervention such as  a disease management program
  • Controls health care costs

To be effective the HRA data must be reviewed, evaluated and acted upon. Determine which health risks are most prevalent in your company and design the components of your wellness program accordingly. Integrated into a wellness initiative, the HRA is the cornerstone of a successful, behavior change programs.