Insurer's program targets employees' habits

Health insurance is a big cost of business, and a new program seeks to control the cost by addressing the health risks within individual workforces.

Premiums charged to many employers have risen 100 percent in recent years, says

Ty Windfeldt, director of marketing for Hometown Health, and employers are asking what they can do to help contain costs.

So Hometown Health, the health insurance arm of Renown Health, implemented a program designed to bring wellness into the workplace for the 800 employers enrolled in its managed-care contracts. It contracted with Nashville-based Aegis for the program.

After two months, 24 employers have signed on, says Windfeldt.

As employers' 12-month contracts come up for renewal, they are told about the program. But some employers had already asked for wellness programs, and they were enrolled in the Aegis program first.

Wellness is an individual effort, and confidentiality is a big concern when dealing with employees. That's where the third-party involvement of Aegis comes in.

The first step is a workforce survey to identify specific risks. Each employee completes a personal health profile.

It's meant to identify health risks such as smoking, drinking and overeating that can be modified. Health risks such as asthma, diabetes and depression that can be managed also are also identified.

The surveys then go to Aegis, who enters the information into a database maintained at Aegis on behalf of its hospital clients.

"Individuals are de-identified to ensure a high level of confidentiality," says Henry Ross, chief executive officer at the Nashville firm.

The results identify what set of risks exist in a particular workforce.

Aegis crunches the numbers but it's up to the partner hospitals and the employers enrolled in its health plans to take action.

"It's a way to get out in front of risk and attempt to mitigate it," says Ross. For instance, a company might look at the results and offer employees a stop-smoking program, or incentives to stop smoking.

If surveys show a high proportion of couch potatoes, the company may want to subsidize fitness club memberships or simply start a lunchtime walking club. If the trend is toward high-blood pressure, it can bring a physician on site to educate workers. If surveys show a propensity to heart disease, employers may want to host a lunch-and-learn seminar to educate employees on healthy eating.

But the challenge is getting employees to attend.

"Some employees don't buy in to health and wellness programs, says Windfeldt, noting that the problem isn't among those who are doing everything right.

"They're first in line to attend health and wellness fairs," he says. "They like to get the affirmation that they're doing everything right."

But those with less healthy lifestyles tend to balk.

"However, once we educate and demonstrate, they come around," Windfelt says.

To bring employees around, some employers get creative with ways to entice employees to attend lunch and learn seminars. They give gift certificates. Or have a drawing to win a vacation, paid days off, even a flat-screen TV.

For employers, the payoff is not so immediate.

"It's not as if you hold a health fair today and see a reduction in premiums tomorrow," says Windfeldt. Implementing health and wellness activities won't reduce premiums: but it might mean they won't go up as fast as they have in the past.

The rewards to Hometown Health? "We want to continue to keep as many employers as we can," says Windfeldt. "Our objective is to make the community healthier."

Aegis is privately-held and its program is used at 72 hospitals in 60 markets and at more than 4,000 employer sites nation wide. Case studies show payback of three to seven times investment, says Ross.