Health Insurance Daily

Wellness Pays As Health Costs Shift

Pedometers, workouts and wellness points are the topics of casual lunchtime conversations at the DuPage Credit Union in Naperville now that the company offers a consumer-directed health insurance plan that rewards employees for healthy behavior, the company said.

"I'm watching team members come together and really motivate one another to be more healthy individuals," said Lori Mecca McGrath, human resources manager. The wellness focus has been building since October 2004, when the credit union nixed the standard PPO plan it had offered for years in favor of a lesser-known, $1,000-deductible consumer-directed health plan with lower premiums and a health reimbursement arrangement to which the company contributes $600 per employee, she said. If workers don't spend the $600, it is theirs to keep, McGrath said.

"It gives you an impetus to pay a little more attention to your health care," McGrath said.

Article can be viewed in its entirety at National Healthcare News.

posted by Mike @ 8:05 AM