Our Panel at the 8th Annual Healthcare Unbound Conference 2011

According to a recent Towers Watson survey, fewer employees have taken "action to improve their health” in 2010 than in 2008 (59% compared to 65%) which is a surprise given the rise in chronic conditions. Further findings are that “27% would not participate in wellness efforts without incentives”.

What are employers and health plans doing to successfully motivate consumers to participate in their wellness initiatives?

During this panel on employee engagement, you will learn:

·   How virtual coaches are getting personal and gaining results

·   Ways social graphs are being used to map and leverage influencers

·   How reward strategies and behavioral economics are being utilized to produce behavior change

Moderator: Sherri Dorfman, MBA, CEO & Consumer eHealth Specialist, Stepping Stone Partners

Panelists:

• Bryce Williams, Director, Wellvolution, Blue Shield of California
• Pat Sukhum, Co-Founder & Director of Marketing, RedBrick Health
• Lisa McGill, VP, Worldwide Human Resources, Brocade Communications Systems (Self Insured Employer)

Let me tell you about Jack…

Last week, Jack celebrated his 54^th birthday with his wife and two teenage girls.  His daughter Alyssa told him to "try not to finish the cake when no one is looking”. Jack has packed on the pounds in the past few years and is currently 60+ pounds overweight. Alyssa teased her father about how many miles he will need to bike to work off the extra slices. Jack’s wife Joan is concerned since she knows that he is at risk for Diabetes.

Several months ago Jack complained to his doctor that he was disgusted with his weight and was ready to make a change. Over the last few years, Jack tried several diets but he still doesn't make the right dietary decisions. Jack told his doctor that he was considering bariatric surgery and asked for a referral to meet with a surgeon.  Maybe his doctor could have “prescribed information” for Jack such as watching a video on a weight loss approach which has been successful for others like Jack or signing up for a eNewsletter with tips to control his weight through diet and exercise from a "trusted source".

Jack’s Health Plan is after him to participate in their Pre- Diabetes Program but Jack would rather focus on other health issues. Jack can’t stop thinking about the bariatric surgery. He is worried about taking such a big step but does not know about other less invasive options. Jack is not aware of the “decision support tools” that his health plan has online since he has not been to the member portal in years. He also ignores the mass produced print and eNewsletters since they do not address his specific interests. He had to contact this health plan to obtain the referral to the specialist but has not received any information from them which will help him understand his options.

Jack’s employer launched a wellness incentive program with weekly on-site challenges offering rewards for his “steps”. Unfortunately, Jack travels frequently and misses these competitions. He bikes on weekends but that is not part of his employer’s wellness incentive program.

When he has time, Jack visits an online community of people interested in weight loss. Too bad this website does not have a sub-community of business travelers since this “segment” has the same challenges with eating out every meal and having limited time to work out.

There are many opportunities to step in to educate, engage and motivate Jack to follow the path to better health. What can you do to get to know and help Jack?

Whether companies are launching “challenges” or online tools for healthy change, they are putting rewards in place for maximum response. For example, they are offering consumers rewards for participating in a smoking cessation or a weight loss program as well as winning the team competition for the most steps. With the increase in funding for prevention and wellness, rewards programs are getting more attention. 

"Last week, I was awarded a wellness day off and I feel like a new person!"

“The rewards program has helped me. I am more aware of getting the steps that I need to make to my goal each day.”

“My company started awarding points to get us to be healthier. The program started off with lots of excitement but has kind of fizzled out.”

“Reward  Me” Opportunity:   Provide currency of value (e.g. money, time off)  in exchange for desired behaviors while keeping the rewards dynamic, tiered (e.g. higher level for achieving stretch goals) and personalized to the individual.

Engagement in Action:

• Employers such as REI and Bridgepoint Education are using Limeade to engage and empower their employees. With the Limeade platform, employers enable their employees decide what they want to do to earn points for rewards. With Limeade’s mobile application, employees can even plan, track and monitor their goals while on the go. In addition to their own activities, employees may choose to participate in challenges from their employer or from others in the Limeade online community such as participating in an online coaching session, attending an onsite seminar or completing the challenge activity. For example, users challenge others to train for and complete local races, lose pounds, not drink for a month, or even "get to work without your car the most times this quarter". Employers challenge employees to "Exercise 30 minutes, 6 days a week" to "Contribute (your time or money) to a charity of your choice this month", to "do something for YOU in the next two weeks", or even "post an essay about how you've been inspired to change your life".  Rewards typically fall into two categories; 1) an incentive benefit related to health care -- lower premiums, deductibles or access to a superior plan, or 2) other stuff their specific employees value -- vacation time, ski lift tickets, or dinner with the CEO.  
• According to Forbes, Ochsner Health Systems and many other employers have used the Virgin HealthMiles  platform with the “Pay for Prevention” program to reward employees for healthy behaviors. Points are given for the measurement of vitals and tracking of activity.  Employers are testing different rewards such as lower premiums, gift cards and days off and the reward value can range up to $2,500 per year. In addition to challenges from a specific employer, Virgin also runs competitions across the employers for all participants in their network. For the selected challenge activity, the participant wins entries into a lottery for travel such as a trip to Sir Richard’s Private Island in the Caribbean.

Employers need to be creative in how they are packaging, positioning and promoting their rewards program.  The program participants are in the best position to advise their employer on suggested rewards, reward structure and rewarded behaviors. Think about how the rewards program may differ for employees working in a call center or retail store compared with those employed by a financial services firm.

The biggest challenge for sustaining participation is to determine ways to reward consumers for increasing the time and frequency on activities they enjoy doing (e.g. swimming, biking) and for making healthy decisions about their diet whether they are in a supermarket or restaurant.