Question # 1:  Do you have associates that aren’t as healthy as they think they are?

Despite their best intentions and regular medical visits, your employees are not as healthy as they think they are, not even close!  We have never finished a single day of HealthHammer testing without finding a handful of “walking time bombs”.  Providing an effective onsite health screening or know your numbers campaign is often a wakeup call for your associates to get more engaged in health care decision making.

Question # 2:  Would you like to have better handle on your health care costs?
Many leaders feel powerless to do anything about health care costs other than writing bigger checks.  Further, bottom line expenses often get lost in spreadsheets and reports filled with multiple health plans and too many lines of data. One of our CFO clients thought they were spending about $1.  One of our CFO clients thought they were spending about $10,000 on monthly health premiums only to find out the amount was actually over $100,000.  Calculate and track your total premium expenses over time using just 2 cells, company payments and employee payments.  Next, have a conversation with your health insurance agency about becoming your vested management partner regarding strategies and options for health cost effectiveness.

Question # 3:  Are you currently paying for benefits or resources that aren’t being effectively utilized?

Low participation in prevention and wellness are very common.  Many organizations engage only the “worried well” – associates that are already healthy and participating.  Also, many benefits have very low utilization.   Preventive examinations, employee assistance programs and nurse advice lines are common examples of programs that would be much more helpful if participation were higher.  Remedies include helping your employees understand that they need the benefit (See question #1) and communicating the resource more often.

With all of the confusion, buzz and hype surrounding health and wellness benefits, it can be very easy to lose sight of what really works. Addressing the 3 key questions above will go a long way towards improving your evaluation and outcomes.

Scott Foster is President of Wellco, based in Michigan. Wellco works with companies who want to measurably improve dangerous and costly health conditions. Wellco specializes in health ROI systems, health risk appraisals, wellness programs, speaking, and consulting. Wellco is the developer of the award-winning HealthHammer, the first and only Zero Trend Appraisal system. For more information, visit www.wellcocorp.com or call 248-549-4247.

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