Benton County : Workers given incentives to be healthy
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/199064/
A pair of beat-up pink and white sneakers sits in the back seat of Deeann Gutekunst’s black Kia Rio.
Gutekunst retrieves them nearly every morning from her car in the Benton County Administration Building’s parking lot before going on a 15-minute walk.
Since quitting smoking a few months ago, she’s gained about 25 pounds, which could increase her insurance deductible between $ 100 and $ 400, she said.
Gutekunst works in the treasurer’s office, and she’s one of about 400 Benton County employees enrolled in a voluntary health-based incentive program offered through the county’s human resources department.
Officials in the self-insured department introduced the program in June 2006 after claims in 2005 put them about $ 450, 000 in debt. The Quorum Court transferred money from the county’s general fund to pay off the debt in 2005. In 2006 the benefits department restored the funding.
If the department continued to incur such debt, it would have cost the county jobs, employees’ raises and eventually shrunk capital improvement projects, said Thomas Dunlap, the county’s benefits administrator.
A wellness approach that rewards healthy lifestyles was the one thing the department hadn’t tried to decrease health care costs, he said.
Ninety percent of the county’s 480 insured employees enrolled in the program, he said. The county has 622 full-time employees overall.
The incentive program, which is provided through Ohio-based Benicomp, has resulted in more claims but a lower cost for Benton County, he said.
Dunlap projected that employees will file more than 14, 500 claims at an average of $ 122 each by the end of 2007 for a total cost of about $ 1. 77 million.
In 2005, employees filed about 3, 000 fewer claims but cost the county nearly $ 1. 25 million more than what’s projected for this year.
“More people are being treated, but it costs half as much per claim,” he said.
The county has a separate insurance program for catastrophic illnesses which result in $ 100, 000 or more in medical costs.
Employees are taking more preventative measures with their health care, too, Dunlap said. As an example, he said an employee is more likely now to see his doctor to treat high blood pressure rather than be hospitalized for something more severe.
“The trips for the doctor are still there, but they’re asking for different things,” he said.
Here’s how the incentive program works:
Enrolled employees are analyzed for blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels, nicotine use and weight using the body mass index.
Results are mailed to Benicomp, which records the results and notifies employees about the credits they’ve qualified for.
Benton County offers two discounts — one for $ 300 and another $ 400 — for each of five categories except for nicotine use, which has one discount of $ 400 for nonsmokers.
Every county employee, regardless of enrollment, starts out with a $ 2, 500 deductible. If an employee in the incentive program meets all the wellness “goals,” based on the National Institutes of Health, a deductible can be as low as $ 500.
“It’s like a safe driver incentive for health insurance,” said Doug Short, president of Benicomp.
The company started offering the incentive program about three years ago and has 60 clients nationwide. Short said he wasn’t sure if any others are in Arkansas.
“Employees and employers are saying, ‘ It’s about time, ’” he said. “The escalation of health care costs are unsustainable. Employees see that and they’re tired of employers shifting the burden to them.”
But a University of Pennsylvania professor warns that it’s dangerous to entrust health care companies and employers with too much personal information.
“I don’t think your employer should be in the business of rewarding or penalizing behavior that has nothing to do with the job,” said Art Caplan, director of the university’s Center for Bioethics.
He said it’s only a matter of time until discounts are replaced by surcharges for people in poor health.
While many companies offer lower premiums for nonsmokers, most haven’t yet adopted incentive-based wellness insurance plans, said Kelly Destefano, president of the Central Arkansas Human Resource Association.
That may change in the near future, she said.
“We’ve got to find some way at least to stop the costs from increasing,” she said. “I think [companies ] are trying to make people active participants in their own good health, which in turn helps keep insurance costs down because health care companies don’t have to pay for those illnesses.”
When Washington County puts its insurance program out to bid in November, officials will consider companies that offer wellness options as well as other incentives, said John Gibson, the county administrator.
“We are currently looking at that among several options,” he said.
Washington County, like Benton County, is also self-insured. Currently it offers its employees coverage through Blue Cross with a deductible of $ 300. But because the industry is always changing, Gibson said it may choose something different in November, keeping in mind coverage costs. “The insurance business changes kind of like computers. You buy a computer and in two years it’s obsolete,” he said. Gutekunst in Benton County said at first she worried about Benicomp knowing her “numbers.” She warmed up to the idea after she learned more about the program. The county is trying to save money for taxpayers and employees, she said, and in the process increasing awareness of healthier lifestyles. Benton County employees will be up for their second physical in November, and Gutekunst is hoping she can shed some weight before then. She and a walking buddy are planning to kick their routine up a notch and begin meeting at 7 a. m. before work. She’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t qualify for the body mass index credit. “But I can only do what I can do,” she said.
To contact this reporter: aotoole@arkansasonline. com