Case Study
Impact
CASE Study
Incentives can help
boost employee
engagement and lower
health risks and costs.
Situation
This residential construction firm is committed to the wellness of its
employees, and its wellness programs have been foundational components
within its corporate mission, vision and initiatives since 2008. Not only
does this firm know the importance of helping employees maintain or
improve their health, it sees strong correlation of that value to its financial
bottom line. Despite the economic downturn and market forces that
affected the United States in 2009, the employer amped up its focus on
employee health and wellness, which helped improve employee satisfaction
and reduce medical cost trends.
With the implementation of the UnitedHealthcare Health Rewards
member incentive plan, the employer realized notable improvements in
wellness program participation and health system usage, as well as employee
engagement and satisfaction in the workplace.
Employer’s Wellness Mission Statement: Create an environment
of growth and fun, to promote an atmosphere of high performance, and
to inspire employees to take responsibility for their health and wellness by
focusing on body, mind and spirit.
2011
Gold
Well
Deserved Award
The UnitedHealthcare Well Deserved Award
recognizes organizations that demonstrate a
commitment to worksite wellness.
Impact
Health Assessment (HA) Participation
100%
50%
70%
21%
26%
2010
2008-2009
2011
$25 for HA $25 for HA Introduction
completion completion + of Health
rewards for
Rewards
other wellness
activities
Health
Coaching
Participation
In 2011, over 50%
completed at least
one health coaching
activity and earned a
premium reduction.
Outperformed all benchmarks in 2011
} Per Member Per Month (PMPM) down 4%
} High-risk health issues down 4.3%
} Emergency room visits down 12%
}Hospital admissions 15%
Employee Feedback via Health Assessment
93.4% satisfied or strongly satisfied with place
of employment, up almost 15% since 2008
51% have not missed a
day of work due to illness,
up from only 35% in 2008
50% report having
little or no stress,
up 12%
Solutions
2008-2009: The employer begins its focus on improving employee health and
wellness by offering a variety of wellness programs and a $25 reward to employees
who complete a Health Assessment.
2010: The economy forced the residential construction firm to downsize, but
increasing the requirements for its wellness program helped keep a focus on health,
morale high and costs low. In addition to being rewarded for completing a Health
Assessment, employees were rewarded for completing other healthy activities, which,
by doing so, earned them lower health insurance premiums the following year.
2011: The employer introduced the UnitedHealthcare Health Rewards program,
which was easy for employees to understand and easy for the employer to manage.
To earn their incentive, employees needed to complete a Health Assessment, attend
a Know Your Numbers biometric screening event and complete one wellness activity,
such as a preventive screening or wellness coaching program.
2012: The employer enhanced the program to further expand employee-focused
health. In addition to the completion of a Health Assessment and biometric screening,
employees were asked to complete an annual physical and one elective health activity
that included either a health screening or a wellness coaching program.
The broad and deep internal support – top-down and across the employer’s 13
locations – is credited with the program’s success. A council of 20-plus wellness
program team members met a minimum of every other month to focus on delivering
consistent and frequent (at least weekly) communication, including the use of
newsletter articles, webinars, home mailings, emails and on-site classes.
The Celebrating Wellness program has caught on so well that individual sites start
challenges and promote wellness initiatives on their own – such as The Weight Loss Team
Challenge in Texas, with 13 participants celebrating a total weight loss of 98 pounds.
Another regional contest, Getting Ready for Summer, celebrated the 20 participants
reporting 128 pounds lost and 16.2 pounds of lean mass gained.
2013: The employer is still going strong with its wellness program, moving to an
outcomes-based incentive program and requiring covered spouses to participate in order
to earn the rewards. The employer believes that it is important for their employees to
not only participate but also take personal responsibility for their health.
“The decision to implement a wellness program was an important corporate initiative driven
by our executive leadership team in 2007 based on the belief that wellness was not only
the right thing to do for our employees but a long-range tool to control and reduce the
escalating costs of medical care. Our employees are healthier, costs are greatly reduced and
we’re looking forward to the future with the wellness program playing a greater part in our
employees’ lives and our company’s culture of wellness.”
“I want to give you a quick personal
account of how this program has, in
a sense, ‘saved my life.’ The wellness
program encouraged me to get my annual
physical which I hadn’t had in years. The
physical turned up a positive test which
led to a colonoscopy and that found a
pre-cancerous polyp that was removed.
Had it not been for the annual physical
and battery of tests, I might not have had
a colonoscopy for several years which
may have been too late.”
– Employee Testimonial
Lessons Learned
The employer cites several factors
driving success:
• Giving members time to complete
program requirements – up to a
full year
• Supporting the program with a lot of
communication, such as newsletters,
local employee focus groups and
committees, marketing campaigns,
corporate and local health contests
and webinars
• Demonstrating executive support
and participation
• Offering numerous wellness programs
from UnitedHealthcare, making it
easy for both the company and its
employees to manage everything in
one spot, with one partner
• Hiring a part-time, on-site wellness
coordinator
– CEO
Company Profile
• Industry: Residential Construction
• Eligible population: 700+
• Member incentive program: UnitedHealthcare Health Rewards
Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Findings were based on employer claims and Health Assessment aggregate
report data. All figures are based on employer’s historical experience and are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results will vary.
5/13
©2013 United HealthCare Services, Inc.
UHCEW631730-000