Chalk one up for companies that are making a difference in enforcing Wellness in the Workplace. I wrote about my opinion that wellness should determine health benefits more than a year ago and this week I found out that Clarian is answering this clarion call!

Clarian Health, a large provider of health care services to the residents of Indianapolis, Indiana began 2007 with a new Mission Strategy, “A Call To Change”, urging the residents of the Hoosier State to take charge of bettering their health. In addition, Clarian is boldly going where pretty much no other company has gone before. Putting it’s money where its mouth is, the company is tying employee compensation and benefits with the individual’s health and habits.

Clarian Health is announcing changes to employee medical insurance plans in order to promote healthier lifestyles. Beginning in 2008, all employees wishing to enroll in Clarian-sponsored plans will have to report all potential health risks, including whether they use tobacco. A health risk charge of $5 per paycheck will be assessed to employees who have used tobacco within six months of their health risk assessment completion date. Beginning in 2009, employees will also have to participate in a complete health screening.

-Inside Indiana Business

Now, that’s what I call getting serious about making people value their health insurance (often provided free or at reduced premiums). When the individual employee realizes that there are no rights without corresponding responsibilities, everyone benefits. It goes without saying that a company’s group insurance premiums would reduce considerably if the average health-levels of its members increased and if no member smoked or was overly obese.

Workers who were moderately obese had health-care costs that were 21 percent, or $670 a year, higher than workers with normal weight, according to a recent study by Thomson Health Care. For those with severe obesity, annual health-care costs rose 75 percent, or $2,441 per person.

- IndyStar

From 2009, Clarian will begin to charge employees $30 every two weeks if certain serious issues are not brought under control. Employees will be screened for 5 major health indicators: Body Mass Index, LDL (bad) Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar (Glycemia) and Smoking Status. While the company will provide for free smoking-cessation and wellness programs, employees who still don;t make an effort will see themselves being hit where it hurts the most - their paycheck.

But is it legal? Well, while employees cannot be discriminated against (by being provided less coverage than others), …

employers, who typically pay the bulk of employee health insurance premiums, are allowed by law to use financial incentives in wellness programs to motivate workers to adopt more healthy lifestyles, said Mike MacLean, a partner at Indianapolis law firm Baker & Daniels.

Kudos to Clarian for leading the way for large companies that are making an exceptional effort to bring America’s workforce onto the fitness bandwagon.

As always, it looks like nothing will make a person sit up and listen like money can!

[tags]health, fitness, exercise, overweight, obesity, Clarian Health, workplace wellness[/tags]

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When you pick up an issue of BusinessWeek magazine you expect to see news about the latest twists and turns in the stock market, maybe even some good old fashioned corporate corruption. But the cover of the February 26th edition grabbed my attention when I realised it focussed squarely on workplace wellness (just one of my many obsessions).

Scotts Miracle-Gro of Marysville Ohio is, by this account, a great example of a company that has gotten workplace-wellness programs right. Get Healthy-Or Else describes the efforts made by this lawncare company to not only get its employees to eat and live well but also makes them accountable for their actions. During the middle of last year I asked if Wellness should determine health benefits and I was heartened to see many similarities between what I wished for and what is already being done at Scotts.

Getting employees involved

Just like household budgeting which works best when the kids are involved in the whole money-in money-out equation, Scotts’ wellness program began with CEO Jim Hagedorn’s honest and straight-forward approach with his employees.

Hagedorn wanted employees to know what he was up against. Using a PowerPoint presentation, he showed that his annual health-care bill had soared 42% since 1999, to $20 million, which amounted to 20% of the company’s net profits in 2003.

Getting employees policed

Enforcing workplace programs especially related to such personal matters as smoking and eating is always a tricky issue, but Hagedorn, a former F-16 pilot was not one to be discouraged. Hiring a third-party firm to prevent managers from discriminating against subordinates, he managed to institute a smoking ban with the understanding that “If people understand the facts and still choose to smoke, it’s suicidal,” he says. “And we can’t encourage suicidal behavior.”

A little extreme? Sure, but then so is the problem.

Getting employees the resources

Well, talk about fitness is cheap, but Hagedorn puts his money where his health is:

During one of Hagedorn’s straight-talk sessions, workers told him a company gym would make wellness easier to swallow. “Done,” Hagedorn said. But his vision went far beyond installing some StairMasters and throwing up health pointers on the Scotts intranet. Hagedorn built a soup-to-nuts medical and fitness center across the street from headquarters. Operated by Whole Health, the 24,000-square-foot facility cost $5 million and can meet pretty much any health-related need an employee might have, including a drive-thru for free prescription drugs.

When employers don’t stop at just making recommendations, but go that extra step to actually provide a convenient, usable service, everyone benefits.

Get employees accountable

Of course, you can provide the world of benefits to employees, but that benefit is only going to be as good as its usage. This is why:

Scotts employees are now urged to take exhaustive health-risk assessments. Those who balk pay $40 a month more in premiums. Using data-mining software, Whole Health analysts scour the physical, mental, and family health histories of nearly every employee and cross-reference that information with insurance-claims data. Health coaches identify which employees are at moderate to high risk. All of them are assigned a health coach who draws up an action plan. Those who don’t comply pay $67 a month on top of the $40. “We tried carrots,” says Benefits Chief Pam Kuryla. “Carrots didn’t work.”

As I have said many times before, insurance companies work like that - the safest, most responsible people pay the least. It’s time health insurance followed suit. Complacence that one’s individual habits don’t matter because someone else is paying for health insurance is the root of irresponsible eating behaviour. It’s time people (especially at the workplace) realise that their habits don’t affect just themselves but others too. “Why should you care whether other people are healthy or not?” - well you can stop wondering now.

Getting employees motivated (and rewarded!)
Often Hagedorn will walk around motivating people and making sure people are on the right track. And with rewards aplenty for good behaviour general wellness at Scotts is only going one way - up:

The nudging begets peer pressure. Gym rats earn special pins they display on ID badge lanyards; these have become a coveted status object. Competition for trips to Hawaii, free massages and facials, and other cash and prizes is fierce. One group of employees started having lunch together every day to keep each other from peeling out of the parking lot for a smoke. Doughnuts have disappeared. “The message is: If you’re not trying to do something to make yourself better, then you’re going to pay more,”.

Getting employees results

The best part of any program is seeing the results right before your eyes and employees of Scotts are luck to be able to do so:

So far, the company says, more than 70% of headquarters staff belongs to the fitness center. The smoking-cessation program has already had a 30% success rate. The wellness program, which costs $4 million a year to run, is a financial drain. But the company expects it to pay for itself in three to four years.

The Challenges From Tough Decisions

The guy on the cover? He is Scott Rodrigues who was fired on his 30th birthday because he didn’t stop smoking … and promptly filed a discriminatory lawsuit against the company. While Scotts Miracle-Gro agrees it’s a difficult decision it believes it can get the case dismissed.

Path-breaking policies are never easy to implement - but kudos to Jim Hagedorn for making the effort, sticking to his values and making a real difference to his employees. Do read the complete article which also links to a tips page on How to Launch a Wellness Program.

How does your company rate at motivating its employees to lead a healthier life? Do you have any tips for making it easier to implement similar policies at work? Do let other readers know by commenting!

[tags]health,fitness, exercise, workplace wellness[/tags]

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