Health Insurance is one of the largest costs employers face and…

Question Answered step-by-step Health Insurance is one of the largest costs employers face and… Health Insurance is one of the largest costs employers face and premiums continue to grow each year. One way employer’s try to minimize the cost of health insurance is to do they can to keep their employees healthy. Since so many people are hesitant to seek guidance from a doctor (think annual check-up) employers are paying for an annual on-site wellness check so their employees might catch conditions such as high blood pressure or cholesterol earlier than they typically would. Getting employees to participate in this annual assessment (basically a screening) can be a challenge. I wrote this case a few years back but the basic premise still exists. You will look at Northwest is currently doing and suggest ways to increase employee participation in the annual health risk assessment (screening.)BackgroundThis includes some startling statistics you could use and need to keep in mind (some of this is covered in Chapter 12)In 2008, US medical costs per person was $7,681 which was almost double per capita spending of other industrialized nations. From 1965 to 1985 (from when I was born to when I graduated from college) health-care spending (adjusted for inflation) more than tripled. The next 20 years it nearly tripled again which brings it to its current 17% of our nations GDP. (Cutting the Cost of Health Care, 2010 (Links to an external site.))US. citizens spend an average of $9,024 a year on healthcare, compared to an OECD average of $3,620 according to the OECD’s data on healthcare from 2016.If the premiums had increased at the rate of inflation from 2002 to 2012 (28%) the $3,083 premium would have increased to $3,934.62 and the average family premium of $8,003 would have increased by 28% to 10,213.68. (Employer Health Benefits Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation 2013 (Links to an external site.)). By 2013, the annual total costs of employer-sponsored family premiums averaged just over $16,000 (this includes the employee and employer share. According to our textbook this has increased to $19,000 by 2017.Northwest Missouri State University employs approximately 690 employees who are eligible to receive health insurance benefits and like most organizations we have been struggling to contain health insurance costs. Until 2018 Northwest paid 100% of the employee contribution (only 16% of employers .)Preventive care is designed to reduce medical expenses and research indicates the biggest benefits in this area come from helping the chronically ill manage their diseases. Return-on-investment (ROI) calculations bear this out: Considering the ratio of reductions in health care costs to program costs, including the fees of the program vendors and the cost of screening employees for health risks, the overall ROI was $1.50—that is, a return of $1.50 for every dollar that the employer invested in the program. But the returns for the individual components differ strikingly: $3.80 for disease management but only $0.50 for lifestyle management for every dollar invested. (Do Workplace Wellness Programs Save Employers Money? 2014 (Links to an external site.))Wellness ProgramsThe RAND Employer Survey data (Links to an external site.) suggest that 80 percent of employers with a wellness program screen their employees for health risks, and case study results show that employers use results for program planning and evaluation and for directing employees to preventive interventions that address their health risks. (Links to an external site.)When asked about the effectiveness of wellness programs; employers offering at least one element of a wellness program reported:73% reported that wellness programs were effective in improving the health of their firm’s employees.52% said that wellness programs were effective in reducing their firm’s health care costs.12% of firms indicated that they did not know if wellness programs were effective in improving employees’ health.13% did not know if wellness programs were effective in reducing costs.Current PracticeIn partnership with our insurance carrier BCBS of KC, Northwest has provided all employees a free Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) screening for the past 12 years as part of our wellness program. This annual event includes a biometric screening  (blood test, just a prick of the finger and blood pressure and weight/height) which provides baseline data to shape the direction of our wellness program. For employees, these screenings provide information on current and potential medical issues so employees have reliable information about their risk for chronic preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, and can identify a path for disease prevention and improved health. The first year 58% of employees participated in the program but the percent has declined to less than 42% in subsequent years. Incentives WorkAccording to the research conducted by Rand “Employers who use incentives for screening activities report significantly higher participation rates than those who do not (63 percent versus 29 percent for HRA completion and 57 percent versus 38 percent for clinical screenings.) Northwest currently takes the following actions to encourage employees to participate in the free Health Risk Appraisal:Event takes place over 3 days on campus and scheduling for these appointments is available online; scheduling of appointments keeps the process moving very rapidly for the employees participating.Incentives used at NorthwestAll employees who participate are awarded 25 points for biometric screening, 25 points for the assessment on the computer, total of 50 points that translates into $50 in MyRewards for participating.All employees who participate are eligible for door prizes:Wal-Mart gift cards (10@ $25 each)Hy-Vee gift cards (10@ $25 each)3 xBox Kinects1 iPod Touch1 Galaxy tablet2 iPads46” Samsung Flatscreen Smart TV InstructionsFirst Response should include a plan to increase the participation rate of Northwest employees willing to complete the annual Health Risk Appraisal (HRA.) Step one is to figure out why people aren’t wanting to participate.Your first post should include responses to these questions (you won’t be able to see your peer’s responses until you have posted yours.)What other information would you like to know in order to develop a plan for increasing the percent of employees who participate in the Health Risk Appraisal?What percent of employees would you like to get to participate in the free health screening this year? What are you basing this on?Predict what objections employees would have to the program, in other words, why don’t they want to participate?Second Response (after taking into account your peer’s posts and what Northwest is currently doing)Brainstorm 3 to 5 ideas you believe would be most likely to increase participation in the Health Risk Appraisal Program.   Business Management Human Resource Management MGMT 54314 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)