Employees: 4,500
In 2004, Blue Shield of California began using financial incentives to fight health problems in the workplace. Blue Shield created the Healthy Lifestyle Rewards program using a custom website offered by Miavita and offers a cash incentive to their employees for participation. The company communicates to the employees about this program through a number of different media, including an online employee newsletter, company intranet homepage, and emails.
Blue Shield has just completed its second year pilot program. The Healthy Lifestyle Rewards program is designed to help members give up the unhealthy habits which can lead to chronic diseases and high health care costs. The program uses financial incentives, interactive health promotion and online tracking tools to encourage participants to adopt behaviors that will have the greatest impact on their health and that support healthy living.
The Healthy Lifestyle Rewards program begins with enrollment through the Blue Shield of California website, www.mylifepath.com. When registering, the participant completes a health assessment with information on height, weight, health conditions and general lifestyle practices. The resulting individual profile indicates both where the participant is doing well and where lifestyle changes could help. The program offers more than 10 six-week programs from which members can choose: most popular “paths” taken in the web program were the Weight Loss and Get in Shape programs. The site also features walking trackers, meal planners, weekly to-do lists, recipes, a “virtual trainer” and other fitness tips.
To earn the financial incentive — from $75 to $200, based on duration of participation — an enrollee needs to log on to the website and record their healthy lifestyle activities on a weekly basis. While the goal of Healthy Lifestyle Rewards is to improve participant health outcomes, the rewards were based solely on participation rather than individual results. Blue Shield believed that logging on would expose the employee to a number of resources that would help them make healthier choices. When the employee logs on, a record of participation is created that was then tallied at the end of the program.
The program also encourages each employee to set a personal goal for the program, such as weight loss or better eating. The participant is then given specific steps to reach that goal. The program includes the option of completing an additional follow up health assessment.
The Miavita website is the lynchpin of the program. On the website, employees log in and receive customized recommendations for their health situation as well as general reminders and tips about staying healthy, including recipes, workout routines, and more. The website is comprehensive and sends out weekly reminders. Blue Shield relies on the website to motivate and guide employees to participate in fitness activities.
Blue Shield, a health care provider, also began offering the program to its members, making it the first health plan in history to pay its members to adopt healthy behaviors.
Healthy Lifestyle Rewards encourages employees to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors and provides them with rewards for using practical tools that promote well-being. One participant noted, “I was motivated by a $200 reward, but I have been rewarded with a healthy life. I feel better about my body and I now work out six days a week. I cook healthier and am reinforcing the lifestyle to my children. Healthy Lifestyle Rewards changed my outlook on life.”
Results for all Healthy Lifestyle Rewards participants
Participation
The employees who logged on weekly for 20 weeks earned $75. Those who logged on once for 28 weeks on the program received $150. Up to $200 was given to employees who kept track of their healthy activities for 35 weeks.
In December of 2004, almost 1,200 reward checks were mailed, totaling nearly $200,000. Nearly half of all participants (49 percent) who earned a reward succeeded in earning the maximum $200 reward, which were mailed around the holidays.
As of December 2005, Blue Shield has provided more than 3,100 members with checks totaling more than $500,000 as a reward for their efforts.
Almost all participants (92 percent) completing the program said they were successful in reaching their goals.
Health Improvements
The most popular program offerings, “Weight Loss” and “Get In Shape,” were chosen by 36 percent of participants who lost a combined total of 14,319 pounds during the first two years of the program.
Throughout the program, 53 percent of participants improved their body mass index, while 18 percent reported doing at least 30 minutes of exercise at least three times per week.
Cost Savings
Initial results from a medical claims study conducted by researchers from Stanford University suggest that medical claims among participants declined from prior year levels.
Participation in the program was associated with an estimated saving of $160 (HMO) - $283 (PPO) per participant, per year in medical expenses.
After the first year of the program, participants had an average of 2.4 health risks, a significant decrease from the average of 3.3 health risks pre-program.
Strengths
Innovative Ideas
Lessons Learned
Resources
Miavita is just one of the vendors that provides this type of wellness service to employers. Miavita notes that in today’s economy, talented employees have more career options than ever before. If the work environment doesn’t support their health and happiness objectives, they’re more inclined to move on. Miavita’s Healthy Living Programs give employees personalized, action-oriented solutions for healthy living, backed by science. The online programs provide unprecedented reach and convenience, helping individuals pursue and maintain healthy lifestyles at the office and at home. In addition, Miavita offers detailed support to HR professionals to generate greater participation, involvement and success.
Miavita’s corporate program features:
All content, tools and services, including personalized diet and fitness plans, progress tracker, recipes and more.
Regular tracking and usage reports; surveys; services to calibrate and customize the program further on the basis of usage patterns and corporate objectives.
A co-branded, customized corporate home page that offers an opportunity for corporate messaging and community building.
Savings certificates, reward and incentives programs to motivate employees to adopt healthy behaviors.
