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We recognize how difficult this work can be, but there are many worksites across the stat that are seeing the impact that their worksite wellness efforts are having on not only employee health, but the business as a whole. Reno County is one such worksite. Their efforts to implement a comprehensive worksite wellness plan have helped them maintain their insurance costs! We are excited to have the opportunity to share their story!
The inception of Reno Counties Work Well Program back in 2008 has really taken off in the last few years. For the first couple years, there were small events and programs with limited participation. By the time I started in July of 2015, the plan that they had in place was a very comprehensive plan. Human Resources (Renee Harris) and the commissioners were instrumental in planting this seed of health in Reno County by giving the program a small budget. October of 2011 was the first plan year that the employees could have an impact on how much they paid for their health insurance. Being a non-smoker, participating in a biometric screening & filling out a Health Assessment, you received 2 points (each point is 5% off your monthly premium). In addition, you could voluntarily participate in a point program that gives you points for flu shots, yearly physicals, colonoscopies (any preventative screening), healthy living programs, and physical activity. If you obtained the required 1500 points, there was an additional 5% off. Just a note from our "preventative care" insurance analysis from 2015-2016: Reno County was at 603 per 1,000 versus the Expected 493 per 1,000. Which tells us our preventative services where higher than the norm.
Since the decision to go Self-Insured in Oct of 2015 (increase in insurance rates were 12% from previous year), the Wellness Committee has really tried to step up the program. Additional physical activity points for 11,000 steps per day (only verified by electronic tracking device), requiring physical activity every quarter, options for more healthy living points (points for healthy food receipts, massage), and communicating more through our in-house run wellness portal. Replacing a traditional vending machine with a "Go Healthy" machine was something we also tried.
Since the last increase in 2015, we haven't had an increase in rates and we are going into our third year of a more engaging and user friendly program
- Scott Parker, Reno County
Have a success story to share? We would love to feature your worksite in our newsletter. Email: [email protected]
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