Case Study: Industrial Lab and Municipality take Different Paths to Wellness
What do an industrial lab and a municipality have in common? Each faced rising health care costs that they would eventually have to pass on to their workers. Each asked their respective insurance brokers about implementing a wellness program. After an extensive RFP process, Viverae was named the health management solution for the two companies. Despite being from completely different industries, both had the same reasons for choosing Viverae: the company’s ability to track and report on incentives and participation, as well as the overall impact that each program would have on their respective employees health and wellbeing.
Two Corporate Cultures, Two Incentive Programs
Incentive programs need to be tailored to the culture of each company, and in this case, the cultures could not have been more different. The industrial lab offered employees a 15 percent reduction in health plan premiums for completing required portions of the health management program. The program was a competitive-based one with longer-than-usual health based challenges. The municipality, on the other hand, chose to offer a tiered cash incentive to employees for completion of required programs and additional activities. Despite the difference in programs, both companies utilized the flexibility that Viverae offers through its online web solution, the Viverae Health Management System (VHMS). This allowed for complete participation and incentive tracking and reporting to ensure the effectiveness and ease of management for each program.
Achieving Results
The industrial lab launched its wellness program in 2009. It was determined that fewer than 8 percent of employees were in the 5+ risk factor category — the group with the greatest number of risk factors and the potential for the highest medical cost. While this is good news, it does not lessen the effectiveness of a health management program, as these figures attest:
- Employees with 3 to 4 risk factors: In the category with a moderate number of risk factors, the number of employees dropped by 8.8 percent.
- Employees with 0-2 risk factors: The group with the lowest risk and potential for the lowest medical costs rose by 7.4 percent.
- Employees at high risk due to their nutrition: Poor nutrition can lead to heart disease, weight gain/obesity, and high blood pressure. The number of employees in this group dropped 9.1 percent.
Overall: The population of employees who participated dropped their average number of risk factors by 20 percent.
At the municipality, results of the required biometric screenings and online member health assessments showed that 36 percent of the population fell into the high-risk group (5+ risk factors) or the moderate-risk group (3-4 risk factors). More than 45 percent of the population was at high risk due to lack of physical activity. At the end of the first year, it was clear that the program had a positive impact on employee behavior:
- Employees at high risk due to lack of physical activity: The number of employees in this group decreased by 20 percent. A lack of exercise or physical activity can lead to weight gain and obesity, high blood pressure and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes
- Employees at high risk due to nutrition: The number of workers in this group fell by more than 7 percent. Improper nutrition can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Overall: As an added benefit of the increased physical activity and improved nutrition, the population showed a 7.4 percent decrease in total cholesterol and a 5.5 percent drop in LDL cholesterol, a leading cause of heart disease.
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