Here are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions…

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Why do I need to take action right now?

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The reason you must take action now is best explained by a recent quote from an executive at United Health Care indicating that 59% of this years high cost employees were not in that category last year.

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That’s vital because now is your opportunity to provide incentives and resources to this years healthy so they don’t become part of next year’s high cost population. Act now to impact your future.

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Why should I invest in an independent third-party wellness program when my insurance provider offers one for free?

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Many health insurance companies now offer popular wellness services such as HRA’s, onsite health fairs, biometric screenings, online wellness services and wellness coaching. At first glance, it might appear that the most economical approach is to use these services that are offered for free.

Wait, one moment, before you make that mistake let’s look at why free may not be better.

There is a very good reason insurance companies now offer these free programs. It’s their way of keeping your business, but it may not be in your best interest.

Here’s why… next year’s insurance rates will be based on this year’s experience rating. When you implement one of our proven effective cost-saving health promotion strategies, next year you will want your broker to shop your case around so insurance companies can compete to offer you the very best rate.

If your health promotion program is attached to your core medical plan, you lose leverage to switch carriers, just the way the insurance companies want it. That’s why it’s free. It’s a great retention tool for them at your expense.

Smart employers use an independent third-party doctor-sponsored wellness program that offers the most credible source of health information, the most flexible opportunity for you to shop for the very best renewal rates and terms and allow you to benefit from your employee population’s biometric data collection. If you’re self-insured plan on saving even more, because every dollar saved is another dollar earned.

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Why is using a doctor-sponsored health promotion program more effective than using my insurance company’s free wellness program?

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If you are concerned about the effectiveness of your program vs. just being able to say that you offer a wellness program AND if your goal is to actually reduce your health care costs not just offer what your insurance carrier conveniently includes in their package, then think about this…

A recent study by J.D. Powers & Associates indicates that employers and insurance companies are the least credible sources of health information. In other words, the same information presented by an insurance company, an employer or a doctor all carry different levels of perceived credibility.

For example: would you prefer to receive investment advice for your retirement account from your employer or from an independent investment expert? Well, same is true with health information. Research of almost 10k employees suggests that most employees will believe a doctor first.

Maximize the positive impact of your health promotion program by creating the appropriate arms-length distance between you, your insurance carrier and your employees. Your employees will appreciate it and therefore have a higher degree of participation, which ultimately leads to lower costs for you.

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Are there other reasons I shouldn’t use the free wellness program offered by my insurance company?
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Yes… one of the most valuable components to an employers wellness program is being able to use the aggregate population data to better serve the needs of your employees. When you offer Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) and bio-metric screenings offered for free through your insurance company guess who gets to keep the data and use it? Not you…

This is extremely valuable information to collect and it can be used to either help you reduce your costs in the future or to be used to increase your costs in the future depending on who owns it. That should be you and only you.

Free and convenient is not necessarily better. There are many reasons these programs are offered to you for free.

1. It’s a great retention tool for insurance companies.
2. It’s a great data collection tool for insurance companies.

Let us help you take control of your health care costs and improve your bottom line.

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How I can implement a wellness program and guarantee a return on investment in the first year?

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We teach you how to implement innovative benefit design strategies that achieve an guaranteed instant ROI. In fact, many of our clients appreciate how our strategies teach them how to offer high participation wellness programs at zero-cost to the employer. It’s not hard to achieve a favorable return on investment when there is no investment required.

Learn about our innovative money saving benefit design programs that guarantee you immediate savings. Contact us today.

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If you have more questions contact: DrJason @ DiscoverWellnessCenter.com or call 800.399.Well (9355)