More companies ask employees to meet programs’ targets
By SHANNON MORTLAND

4:30 am, February 1, 2010
Wellness programs have been popular among employers for several years, but they’re coming with more strings attached as companies look for ways to trim their health care costs even more.

Many companies are looking for results — and, in some cases, rewarding employees for them — rather than giving employees incentives for just participating in initiatives such as walking 10,000 steps a day or completing a health risk assessment.

“You have to actually achieve a goal, not just take a test,” said Jim Pshock, president of Bravo Wellness LLC of Avon, which creates incentive-based wellness programs for 51 employers across the country.

Among those employers is Southwest General Medical Center, which signed up with Bravo Wellness this year and has given its employees one year to reach certain wellness goals or face higher health insurance premiums, said Judy Murphy, director of human resources at Southwest.

“The program focuses on employee health with regard to smoking, body mass index, cholesterol and blood pressure,” Ms. Murphy said. “Employees are being charged with being within a certain number within those health indicators.”

Southwest employees are participating in health screenings that will be followed by a detailed report of their current health condition so they will know how far they need to go to reach their goals, Ms. Murphy said.

Though the hospital already had a popular wellness plan in place, its health care expenses still were rising, she said.

“Certain health conditions which can be avoided or controlled by lifestyle changes are the most expensive to a health plan,” Ms. Murphy said.

Steve Millard, president and CEO of the Council of Smaller Enterprises advocacy group, said he’s seeing more small companies get involved in wellness and education initiatives, such as providing health screenings, exercise and diet programs, and lunch-and-learn sessions to teach employees how to live healthier.

Though annual increases in health insurance premiums have moderated to between 9% and 15%, after hitting 20% in previous years, Mr. Millard said the hikes are still high.

“It’s got everybody’s attention,” Mr. Millard said. “People are getting much more active because they can’t afford it anymore.”

Forget the television

Last year, COSE gave 70 wellness grants to local companies, Mr. Millard said. Under that program, COSE provides grants of up to $1,500 for wellness expenditures, such as repairing treadmills at the workplace. However, the use of the money does have limits.

“We’ve gotten a lot of requests for TVs in the workout room, but we haven’t approved those yet,” Mr. Millard said.

Pat Perry, president of the Employers Resource Council human resources group, said some midsize businesses responded irrationally to the economy last year by reducing benefits and increasing deductibles and co-pays for employees, both of which are only short-term fixes.

“They jumped off a really sound strategy and chased the dollar,” he said. “These cutbacks could have been made up elsewhere easily.”

However, not all midsize companies panicked, including Sawyer Technical Materials LLC in Willoughby.

The company continues to try to change the behaviors of its employees through incentives, said Kim Coleman, controller at Sawyer.

“People are getting skinny …’

The crystal quartz manufacturer has installed a walking track around the building and offers monthly incentives for participating in wellness programs, Ms. Coleman said. For example, the Fall Into Fitness eight-week program encouraged people to reach certain fitness benchmarks through cardiovascular workouts. Those who did more vigorous workouts received more points. The team with the highest point total got $25 gift cards to Subway restaurants, she said.

By participating in such wellness activities, employees can reduce their premiums by $50 each month, Ms. Coleman said. Smokers can reduce their monthly premiums by another $30 for not smoking. But, if they choose not to participate one month, their premiums rise by those same amounts, she said.

The incentives are working, as almost all of the company’s 35 employees participate in the wellness program.

“People are getting skinny, and they’re just trying to monitor their blood pressure,” Ms. Coleman said.

“I’m looking forward to spring to see how challenging I can make it.”
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