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Insurance Carrier Wellness Programs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Insurance Carrier Wellness Programs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
We talk to group health insurance brokers and benefits consultants all the time about offering workplace wellness programs. One response that we are still get quite often is, "My clients have access to wellness programs through their insurance carrier." [Tri Wellness team collectively shaking heads in disappointment] So in this news brief, we wanted to outline what is truly offered by insurance carriers in terms of wellness programs. So here it goes, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good:
Insurance carrier wellness programs are cheap. Some even offer them for free. They're also pretty convenient in the sense that benefits managers and HR don't have to really do a whole lot. From an employer's standpoint, this is pretty good news. Unfortunately, this is where the "good" ends.
The Bad:
Wellness programs offered by insurance carriers don't really offer a whole lot and they don't get good participation rates (according to Judith Mueller, President of WellNet Interactive, engagement rates hover around 5-10%). It's pretty much a classic case of "you get what you pay for." But then again, what do you expect? They do health insurance, not healthy behavior change.
They'll probably offer a health risk assessment (more on this later), an online wellness portal with some health information, a phone number for a "nurse hotline," and maybe some "call-center" coaching (read: low quality). The fact is that none of these things will help to create healthy behavior change. There is nothing offered that actively targets the health risks identified in the health risk assessment.
The Ugly:
This part really pertains to the health risk assessment and the data derived from it. Aside from the user experience in actually taking the health risk assessment, they're all pretty much created equal as they all ask pretty much the same questions.
But here's where it gets ugly; who owns the data and how is it used?
Health risk assessment data should be owned by the company, but more often than not it is retained by the insurance carrier. Good luck if you ever change insurance carriers; there goes the data and there goes your ability to track and measure progress over time.
Health risk assessment data should be used to design customized and meaningful wellness programs that target the health risks that are identified. More often than not, this does not happen with insurance carriers. In fact, there are no laws that say an insurance carrier can't use the voluntarily provided health risk assessment data for rating purposes when it comes time for a company to renew.
So there you have it; the good, the bad, and the ugly of insurance carrier wellness programs. To be clear, this is a general overview of insurance carrier wellness programs. Companies (and their brokers/consultants) should do their research on their own insurance carrier to get the skinny on exactly what their particular carrier provides.
If you are finding that the insurance carrier is not able to provide a program that fits the needs of your client, Tri Wellness invites you to take a look at the types of programs we offer. Start by taking a look at our Health Risk Assessment and how we use the data to structure customized and meaningful program for organizations.
The Good:
Insurance carrier wellness programs are cheap. Some even offer them for free. They're also pretty convenient in the sense that benefits managers and HR don't have to really do a whole lot. From an employer's standpoint, this is pretty good news. Unfortunately, this is where the "good" ends.
The Bad:
Wellness programs offered by insurance carriers don't really offer a whole lot and they don't get good participation rates (according to Judith Mueller, President of WellNet Interactive, engagement rates hover around 5-10%). It's pretty much a classic case of "you get what you pay for." But then again, what do you expect? They do health insurance, not healthy behavior change.
They'll probably offer a health risk assessment (more on this later), an online wellness portal with some health information, a phone number for a "nurse hotline," and maybe some "call-center" coaching (read: low quality). The fact is that none of these things will help to create healthy behavior change. There is nothing offered that actively targets the health risks identified in the health risk assessment.
The Ugly:
This part really pertains to the health risk assessment and the data derived from it. Aside from the user experience in actually taking the health risk assessment, they're all pretty much created equal as they all ask pretty much the same questions.
But here's where it gets ugly; who owns the data and how is it used?
Health risk assessment data should be owned by the company, but more often than not it is retained by the insurance carrier. Good luck if you ever change insurance carriers; there goes the data and there goes your ability to track and measure progress over time.
Health risk assessment data should be used to design customized and meaningful wellness programs that target the health risks that are identified. More often than not, this does not happen with insurance carriers. In fact, there are no laws that say an insurance carrier can't use the voluntarily provided health risk assessment data for rating purposes when it comes time for a company to renew.
So there you have it; the good, the bad, and the ugly of insurance carrier wellness programs. To be clear, this is a general overview of insurance carrier wellness programs. Companies (and their brokers/consultants) should do their research on their own insurance carrier to get the skinny on exactly what their particular carrier provides.
If you are finding that the insurance carrier is not able to provide a program that fits the needs of your client, Tri Wellness invites you to take a look at the types of programs we offer. Start by taking a look at our Health Risk Assessment and how we use the data to structure customized and meaningful program for organizations.
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