Corporate Wellness Program Incentives
According to Gordian Health Solutions, the effectiveness of Workplace Wellness Programs in improving health and decreasing healthcare 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 business’s worksite nurses. To encourage lunchtime walking, the worker has informally launched a “shoelace program” modeled after the karate-belt color system. Employees progress through the color scale until they reach “black-lace” status. The reward system has resulted in more employees making commitments to walk during their lunch hour.
At the high end of the reward spectrum, some businesses pay cash to employees who meet wellness goals. LuK, Inc. offers employees $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, employees are eligible for health assessments, which can result in reward amounts of up to $225.
The most effective motivator, according to Gordian research, comes through linking participation in Workplace Wellness Programs directly to insurance premiums. Doing so clearly demonstrates to employees the positive effects of wellness on their own healthcare costs. frequently, 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 health problems before they become chronic. Early detection benefits both patient health and employer health costs.
Incentivizing Workplace Wellness Program participation with healthcare credits
More frequently, businesses 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 recently rolled out a program that allows employees to eliminate their portion of the insurance premium by enrolling in a Healthy Choices Workplace Wellness Program.
During the first year of the Healthy Choices program, employees and their spouses complete Personal Health Assessments and medical screenings 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 enhanced health through the use of educational materials, behavior modification, telephone help from third-party program health coordinators, and formal health management initiatives. 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 necessary to work at setting goals 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 business believes that will mean a healthier workforce and cost savings for employees and the business. The well being of Worthington employees is the foundation of this program, and both employees and the company are expected to benefit from the long-term advantages of the Healthy Choices Workplace Wellness Program.
While Worthington has taken a broad approach to wellness, other businesses have found success in offering incentives in specific areas. Longaberger, for example, offers a discount on healthcare policies for employees who do not use tobacco. An individual worker who doesn’t use tobacco saves $7 per bi-weekly pay. For tobacco-free employees with family coverage whose families are also tobacco-free, the savings increases to $14 per pay.
The next step: Penalizing harmful behaviors
As it stands, healthcare is the only type of insurance that doesn’t focus on penalizing for behaviors that put the insured party at risk. With healthcare 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 employers’ attempts to manage healthcare costs.
Reports that employees would support this type of action are stacking up. One Ohio employer conducted an informal survey that indicated employees would consider it a morale boost if 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 healthcare costs is becoming ever more pressing.
The Last Step: Getting Started
Whatever the strategy, from offering employees health resources to providing incentives for healthy behaviors, businesses have a real opportunity to enhance morale and productivity, reduce absenteeism and control healthcare costs through wellness. The first step is committing to taking one, no matter what size effort is appropriate for your organization.
Small steps lead to big strides.
