Bill Margalis, Director of Administrative Services

Lake County Board of Commissioners

Maximizing

Wellness Dollars

Return on

Investment

1.Statistics

2.What Drives Cost

3.Wellness Programs: The Keys

4.Lake County Wellness

5. R.O.I.

6.Questions

Discussion Points

The High Cost of Diet and Inactivity

Related Diseases Cancer $172 billion

Coronary Heart Disease $130 billion

Obesity $117 billion

Diabetes $132 billion

Stroke $ 51 billion

High Blood Pressure $ 50 billion

Osteoporosis $ 17 billion

That’s almost $700 billion in annual healthcare costs

that could be in some part prevented!

Healthcare Statistics: National

$62 billion spent on healthcare in Ohio annually

– 1% of people use 30% of health care dollars

75% of all deaths in Ohio are preventable through diet, exercise, and not smoking

33% of Ohio adults do not participate in regular exercise

60% of Ohioan’s are considered

overweight

Nearly $1 of every $5 spent on health care in the USA is for a person with diabetes. (Obesity is causing a rapid increase in type 2 diabetes)

Healthcare Statistics: Ohio

What Drives Health Care Costs? $1.8 trillion is spent per year in the United States on health care. By 2015, the cost is expected to reach $4.0 trillion 80% of Chronic Disease is lifestyle driven CDC estimates if all physically inactive Americans became active we would save $77 billion annually in medical costs As a nation we spend less than 2% of our health care expenditures on population-based prevention activities

Total Cost

of Care

Preventable

Illnesses

What Drives Health Care Costs? The indirect costs of poor health can be two to three times the direct medical costs

Approximately 39 million workdays are lost each year in the U.S. due to obesity related illnesses alone

Poor health on the job leads to inefficiency on the job

Productivity losses related to personal and family health problems can cost $1,685 per employee per year

Bottom

Line

Presenteeism

Absenteeism

Poor Health

Why Invest in Wellness? Treating employee healthcare as an investment, rather than a cost, can yield long- term dividends. – In the past 10 years, the annual

return on investment for Wellness programs has been as much as $6 saved for every $1 spent, doubling the return on investment of earlier programs.

Fit employees are more productive employees with fewer sick days, fewer accidents, higher morale, and lower job turnover.

Wellness Programs: The Keys

1. Predict

Identify

individuals who

will benefit the

most from help

and intervention

3. Support and Communication

Provide implementation and engagement

support at the worksite and continual

feedback on the effectiveness of the program

2. Engage

Employ tools and

incentive programs

to encourage every

individual to

participate at some

level

Keys to an Effective Program

Step One: Prediction Establish a Wellness Committee

– Include all departments both bargained

and non-bargained

– Provide information that is easy to

understand

– Meet regularly

Data Assessment

– Review and share your

aggregate claims data with the

committee. Make sure they

understand the cost and the

need to participate

– Cater to your audience Health Screening

– Coordination is Key!

Keys to an Effective Program

Step Two: Engagement

Administration Buy-In

– Commitment from the Commissioners

– Financial Investment

Allocate Internal Funds

Seek Vendor Support through the RFP Process

Hunt for Free Resources

Set Goals

– Clear and Easy to Understand

– Make them measurable

– Prioritize the Actions and Start Small!

Keys to an Effective Program

Step Two: Engagement Cont’d

Identify Incentives

- Gauge your population to see what works

Cash

Gift cards

Premium Reduction/Penalty

Be Creative

- Design programs that everyone can participate

in

- Brand the Program

- Provide a calendar of events

Keys to an Effective Program

Step Three: Communication

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! – Regular Wellness Committee Meetings - Posters of Events

– Surveys & Evaluations - Local Media

– Email Lists

– Recognition

Be Willing to Fail and Learn

– Not everything will work. When it doesn’t, find something that fits within your culture

Stress Confidentiality!

– All information collected in the course of the wellness initiative is held in strict confidence

– Reporting should only be done on an aggregate and blind basis except when results are given to the individual

Publicity and Communication

Lake County Board of Commissioners

D.I.Y. Wellness Program

Getting Started The County discussed and developed its

program over 12 months before the health fair

was conducted in 2007

– The wellness committee was convened from

all departments and bargaining units five

months prior to the health screening to insure

proper communication

A cash incentive of $50.00 was approved for completion of the health screen and the Health Risk Assessment (HRA)

The County partnered with its local community hospital, Lake Health System to assist in the screening process

The County solicited all of its insurance providers to address content at the fair and donate raffle prizes at each screening site

Email blasts, Web page and posters along with word-of mouth were used to communicate

The County is very spread out with diverse areas to cover

– Eight different locations based on departments and number of employees were chosen as sites

– Privacy is critical, we needed to make sure employees were comfortable with the process

Time Frame: The health screenings are conducted over 4 weeks including catch up days for those that could not attend

– Used a call 24/7 appointment line to minimize wait times at the sites

– Early morning sessions were used for 3rd shift employees (i.e. sheriffs dept)

Screening sessions included:

– Hgt./Wt., BMI, Waist measurement - Blood Pressure

– Non-fasting finger stick blood test - Flu Shots

Blood Sugar

Total Cholesterol/HDL Ratio

The Screening

Participation

In 2007 60% of the population participated (702 out of

1,163 employees on health plan)

In 2011 79% of population participated (893 out of 1,138)

Employees receive immediate results at the fair and are

able to discuss them with a nurse counselor

Within two weeks, employees receive a Health Risk

Report mailed to the individuals home and outlined

health risk factors and made recommendations

Basic Program Development

Aggregate Reports are reviewed by the County and the Wellness Committee to determine a course of action

Programs in place with significant results

– On-site Pilates, Zumba, Power Fusion, Yoga classes, Fitness 101,10,000 steps program

– Over 800 participants were given pedometers and walking maps

– Biggest Loser Weight Loss Challenge

- Over 200 participants Annually

On-site mammography screenings

Free Generic medications for cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, asthma

Free Diabetes classes, Smoking, Weight Loss Classes

Results of Five Year Program

(HRA’s, Health Fairs) Healthy employees staying healthy

More employees with primary care physician

Preventative screenings have increased

Increase in percentage of those in desirable range of cholesterol

Higher percentage of those with normal hypertension

Higher percentage of those with normal glucose levels

Questions?