Slim down, trim health insurance [The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.]

July 15--WILKES-BARRE -- Geisinger Health System wants its employees to slim down and take control of their health, and is offering them an incentive to do so in the form of lower monthly insurance payments.

Under the plan, employees who enroll will undergo free health screenings testing their body mass index, blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol and blood glucose. Those whose metrics fall within a healthy range or who make progress toward bringing them below employer-defined maximums by October will pay a smaller share of their insurance premium in 2013 than those who do not.

Employees who meet the conditions will pay 6 percent of their health insurance premium next year, while those who don't will pay 12 percent. Employees currently pay 8 percent, but Geisinger's Human Resources head insisted the increase is not a tax on out-of-shape employees.

"There's a basic increase in the cost of health insurance anyway," Margaret Heffers said. "Part of it is our usual cost adjustment that we see each year. Certainly I think insurance premiums will continue to rise."

Geisinger Health System is not the first company to enroll in the program offered by its affiliated health insurer the Geisinger Health Plan, but with 14,000 benefit-eligible employees it is the largest.

Eleven employers are offering some form of the program, according to Allison Hess, director of wellness programs for the health plan, and five additional groups are in the process of rolling out similar programs.

"This is an industry-wide trend," Hess said. "I think Geisinger was probably one of the pioneers in it but we are seeing an increase across the industry. I believe a lot of it is around managing costs and developing a more cost-effective population management strategy, and I also think employers are seeking opportunities to be involved around wellness programs and being active in their health care."

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania also offers a number of wellness programs employers may choose to offer their employees.

Hess said the program demonstrates the evolution of employee wellness programs over the last five to 10 years. A few years ago, employers offered little more than a walking program, she said.

"The traditional voluntary type programs are definitely on the decline and employers are looking at incentive programs that drive behavior change," Hess said.

Offering an incentive program will not immediately change the overall cost of health care for an employer, Hess said, but it's based on the idea that employees who lead healthier lives will use health insurance less frequently, and therefore rein in costs over time. Healthier employees also have lower absentee rates, she added, and tend to be more productive when they are present.

Employers have options in setting up the program, Hess said. Some have offered incentives like gift cards, while others lower the deductible employees pay rather than the premiums.

There are limits to how many pounds the employers will ask employees to drop. Even if it doesn't bring them within the BMI boundaries, an employee who loses 12 pounds by October will qualify for the discount rate even if his or her BMI is still above the maximum, and any of the conditions can be lifted at a doctor's recommendation. Employees with diabetes, for example, could be exempted from blood glucose requirements with a physician's approval.

There are also legal limits on, for example, how great a difference may exist between the premiums paid by employees attaining and not attaining fitness goals.

Geisinger Health System has set a relatively low hurdle in establishing eligibility requirements. To qualify in the BMI category, for example, an employee must have a BMI below 30, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines as the dividing line between "overweight" and "obese." Employees must also be nonsmokers or quit smoking to qualify.

Some employees have expressed discomfort about "big brother" overtones in the idea, Heffers said, but overall it has generated interest and excitement. About 8,000 employees, or more than 57 percent of the total, have signed up.

"I ran into one individual who took the 12 pounds (she needs to lose to qualify) and divided by what she thought it would be worth (in lower annual premiums)," Heffers said. "She thought that she was worth $25 a pound, and that she would do it for that."

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