November 2, 2010
Health coaching is a very important corner stone in helping employees take personal responsibility for their health. A health coach that an employee trusts can help the employee take control of their health. Health coaches using a cognitive behavioral change model help employees take a good hard look in the mirror and ask if their health habits are consistent with their goals.
I could go on for pages about plan design because there are thousands of ways to go about it. Our goal was to design a plan that provided incentives for good behaviors. I don’t like the model of providing incentives for lowering risk factors because some factors are affected by genetics, but behaviors that improve health is a choice each of us can make.
I also don’t like the punitive “stick” approach. We tried it – it didn’t work.
We settled on a Health Reimbursement Arrangement and Healthy Awards Accounts. Without going into too much detail, employees have a pot of money to help pay their out-of-pocket deductible and coinsurance. They can earn more money to offset those expenses by participating in things like health coaching, biometric screening, follow-up visits with the coach, and completing their Health History and Risk Assessment. Other healthy behaviors that can be compensated might include participating in walking tournaments or “biggest looser” type campaigns. We reward them when their spouses participate in certain activities. Some of the money can roll over to following years. This approach puts decision making and awareness of dollars being spent in the hands of employees rather than the insurance company. No more $20 doctor visit. The employee knows the true cost of health care.
In addition to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement that provides incentives for healthy behaviors, we also provide full coverage for preventive care such as an annual physical, mammogram, colonoscopy, well-baby visits, etc.
Designing health care benefits is very complex. I needed someone who understood the regulations and how the carriers could package the benefits to help in crafting a well thought-out and comprehensive design. I strongly suggest using a third party benefits consultant to assist in the design and negotiation process. A third party will not only understand the rules and guidelines, but is also objective in evaluating the alternative carriers. I used Hickok & Boardman’s Benefits Group and am confident our design is a thousand times better than it would have been if I tried to go it alone or if I simply asked a carrier to help craft the design.
A note of caution: don’t shift costs to employees in your benefit design. It sours employees right off the bat which, instantly defeats the program. Keep your new design cost neutral to achieve the best result. This is the best long-term solution. Stay tuned for more about thinking long -term with regards to health care.
This story of how we restructured our health care program around these ideas will continue with future posts to our blog. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this Health and Wellness blog series.
Spring is in the air. Birds have returned to Vermont, the ice is nearly melted off lake Champlain, it is 80 degrees plus today, and the buds are beginning to sprout on the bushes. Spring brings welcomed relief from the grey days of winter.
