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September 22 2008
(CBS) For Kym Jackson, exercise is a way of life now. Two years of a rigorous regimen have literally transformed her.
As CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds notes, she really does look like a different person now - a completely different person.
But Jackson changed because she had little choice.
Her employer, the Benton County, Ark., government, told her and every other out-of shape worker to get healthy or be punished, because the cost of providing health care coverage for them was getting out of hand.
“I have to tell you, when our plan was hemorrhaging, it was about a bottom-line issue,” said Benton County’s human resources director Barbara Ludwig. “But it was an employee's bottom-line.”
The county raised its annual deductible from $750 in 2004 to $2,750 in 2005.
But it built an incentive into the plan enabling county workers to cut that amount to as low as $500 if they were able to pass yearly fitness tests: cholesterol lower than 160; glucose lower than 126; blood pressure 140 over 90 and no nicotine.
Get healthy, save money.
But many employers were offended - initially.
A prison guard, Andy Bowman, said his first reaction was: “didn’t like it.”
Why not?
“I didn’t want no one telling me I’m out of shape,” Bowman said. “No one wants to have it in their face.”
Another guard, Mark, said: “I think at first you’re a little skeptical, picking on me because I’m fat."
So Reynolds asked the HR manager, “You're forcing a lifestyle on your workers?”
“We had to do something to protect the plan and protect their access to health care. And I think there’s a lot of companies out there that are facing the same thing that we were,” Ludwig said.
She’s right. A growing number of companies are telling workers to get healthy or pay more for insurance.
So, is the plan working? Consider the numbers. Before it went into effect, the county health care fund was nearly half a million dollars in the red. Seventeen months after it went into effect, the county health care fund was nearly a million dollars in the black.
Healthier workers, it seems, are filing less expensive claims.
Couric & Co. Blog: Forced to be Fit
Reynolds spoke with a handful of workers, asking how much weight they’ve lost. One, Angie, said she’d lost 22 pounds. Mark had lost 40 and Andy had lost 54.
Still, critics worry that some employers have ulterior motives.
“They’re looking for ways to cut costs and, unfortunately, some employers are going about it the wrong way, and they're trying to simply push those costs onto their employees,” said Jeremy Gruber of the National Work Rights Institute.
Even for Jackson, when the program began she found it intrusive.
“Oh yes, I hated it - I thought it was a violation of my rights,” she said.
But she admits being told to lose weight or lose money has paid off.
“I feel so much better!” she said.
Source: www.cbsnews.com
© MMVII, CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
September 4 2008
"The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost," says lead author Jack Hollis, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, OR. "Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories."
In addition to keeping food diaries and turning them in at weekly support group meetings, participants were asked to follow a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat dairy, attend weekly group sessions, and exercise at moderate intensity levels for at least 30 minutes a day. After six months, the average weight loss among the nearly 1,700 participants was approximately 13 pounds. More than two-thirds of the participants (69 percent) lost at least nine pounds, enough to reduce their health risks and qualify for the second phase of the study, which lasted 30 months and tested strategies for maintaining the weight loss.
This is one of the few studies to recruit a large percentage of African-Americans as study participants (44 percent). African-Americans have a higher risk of conditions that are aggravated by being overweight, including diabetes and heart disease. In this study, the majority of African-American participants lost at least nine pounds, which is higher than in previous studies.
Researchers note that even small weight loss can offer health benefits. For example, a five-pound weight loss was recently shown to reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure by 20 percent.
The findings were published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
By: Jennipher Shaver
www.fitnessbusinesspro.com
July 31 2008
Investing in disease prevention could save Florida more than $1 billion within five years, according to a nonprofit health-policy group.
Trust for America's Health released a report Thursday suggesting that an investment of $10 a person in community based programs dedicated to educating people about better nutrition, increasing physical activity and discouraging tobacco use could result in a significant improvement in health in the United States and significant cost savings.
Nationally, savings could exceed $16 billion annually and reduce heart disease, stroke and kidney disease by 5 percent within five years, the report said.
Out of the $1 billion in projected savings in Florida, the study said Medicare would save $289 million; Medicaid, $103 million, and private insurers $678 million.
The report and its findings are based on research and studies by the Urban Institute and New York Academy of Medicine.
Go to Healthyamericans.org to read the report, “Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities.
By Anika Myers Palm
Orlando Sentinel
www.orlandosentinel.com/
July 31 2008
Two nights ago, I had a handful of M&M's. In fact, I can tell you I ate seven of the peanut kind, which is my favorite. Under normal circumstances, I would've simply grabbed a bunch, mindlessly eaten them while talking to a colleague and forgotten them entirely.
Instead, I know the specific number I ate because I am keeping a food diary. I write down everything I consume, with great detail. I had a single packet of ketchup with my eggs the other morning and 4 oz. (113 g) of green-tea-flavored frozen yogurt with my daughter two days before that. I started the diary because I wanted to test the striking new results of a paper published in the August issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Scientists at several clinical-research centers in the U.S. found that dieters who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.
The study tracked nearly 1,700 overweight or obese adults across the country who were at least 25 years old. Men and women were included, and 44% of the group was African American. All participants were encouraged to use such weight-loss maintenance strategies as calorie restriction, weekly group sessions and moderately intensive exercise as well as to keep a food journal. The senior investigator, Victor Stevens of Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., told me that "hands down, the most successful weight-loss method was keeping a record of what you eat." In the six-month study, participants who kept a food journal six or seven days a week lost an average of 18 lb. (8 kg), compared with an average of 9 lb. (4 kg) lost by non-diary keepers.
Of course, as you might guess, "it's not just writing it down that counts," Stevens says. It is also about using that record to identify eating habits that need to be modified. While most people think they know what they eat, they really have only a general idea and tend to have selective memory, especially when it comes to the foods that aren't so good for us. With a detailed food diary, you can see where those extra calories are coming from.
As soon as I started writing down all the foods I was eating, I wondered exactly how many calories I was consuming. I found a terrific site called the Daily Plate at livestrong.com. It not only lets you accurately count calories but also helps you find people with eating habits similar to your own. A virtual cheerleading squad could help motivate you to stay away from that bag of M&M's, or whatever food weaknesses you may have.
While keeping a food diary works, it's best to do so in conjunction with regular exercise. Losing just 10 lb. (4.5 kg) can help control high blood pressure and reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Drop a few pounds, and you might get an immediate thank-you from your knees and other joints. It is also likely that your sleep will improve, as will your energy levels.
There is another part of the food-diary experiment that really seems to be working for me. In addition to being honest and diligent about the diary, I am showing everything in my diet diary—down to the last morsel—to my wife. Stevens says it's all about accountability. You may have been thinking about eating that extra cookie, he says, "but you didn't want it to show up on the diary at the end of the day." Tonight, we are eating 6 oz. (170 g) of grilled tilapia with steamed broccoli and a handful of steamed brown rice. I originally thought we were going to have steak tonight, but my wife got hold of my food diary. And, yes, she saw those M&M's.
— With reporting by Danielle N. Dellorton of Time Magazine
www.time.com
May 9 2008
We are all aware of the shift in responsibility that has taken place with benefits over the past few years—employees are becoming increasingly accountable for funding their benefits and retirement packages. What does this mean for the future of benefits plans? Employee risk has escalated, and offerings that protect against this risk have become a critical workplace need.
To help meet this growing need as well as achieve their own benefits objectives, companies have begun to look at benefit programs more strategically and offer employees a broader portfolio of benefits, often through voluntary or employee-paid mechanisms. Additionally, as employers reevaluate their role and fiscal commitment regarding health care, many are realizing the need to take on a greater stewardship of health, wellness, primary care and prevention by creating a culture of health and financial security. It is more beneficial to both employers and employees to prevent the occurrence of cancer than to treat it.
Recently, employers have become increasingly committed to creating benefits programs that encourage employees’ health and financial well-being. Many companies have started a movement that has created a shift away from a health infrastructure that rewards acute and tertiary care to one that encourages wellness and prevention. According to MetLife’s Fifth Annual Employee Benefits Trend Study, 28% of all employers—and 49% of companies with 500 or more employees—offer some type of a wellness program as a workplace benefit.
These wellness and prevention programs, aimed at helping employees make better lifestyle decisions (regular screenings, quitting smoking, losing weight, etc.), can help employers impact their employees’ health. While better health obviously helps impact medical costs expenditures, it can also have an effect on the number of incidences of disability and their duration.
The top two employer benefits objectives, according to MetLife research, are employee retention and controlling health care costs. Benefits programs that include wellness and prevention programs can help achieve both objectives and, importantly, more employers are recognizing that.
Among employer respondents to the Employee Benefits Trend Study:
--35% fund employee assistance programs, up from 25% the prior year.
--17% (and 34% with 500 or more employees) offer targeted prevention programs.
--14% (and 28% with 500 or more employees) provide onsite clinics.
However, as the statistics also indicate there is great opportunity for more employers to effectively impact their medical and disability costs, employer productivity and long-term health by adding these benefits. The findings above also provide a good starting point for brokers or consultants to address these issues with their clients, so they can make more strategic and cost effective choices when it comes to benefits.
In addition, an aging workforce also affects disability. Typically, as people age, they face an increased number of health issues. As a result, staying healthy when one is younger can make a significant difference as one ages. Staying healthy can help prevent premature withdrawal of savings, being able to have a longer work span in the workforce, and mitigate medical costs now and in retirement. Health care costs in retirement are a top concern for many employees even those that are younger. About 48% of Generation Y employees and 60% of Generation X employees who participated in the MetLife benefits trends study said they are very concerned about being able to afford health care in their retirement years.
An employer who spends a dollar now on preventive care is offsetting the potential of spending thousands of dollars later for more serious medical conditions. In this era of increased consumerism, both employers and employees are the recipients of these savings.
By: Michael Fradkin
Source: www.lifeandhealthinsurancenews.com
April 29 2008
Florida workers' health insurance costs climbed nearly one-third between 2001 and 2005 while income rose only slightly, a national trend that is still worsening and is straining the health-care system and consumers, researchers reported Monday.
Rising medical premiums for job-based health insurance forced more families to cut back on coverage or drop it and led some employers to stop offering it, said the analysis commissioned by the nonprofit policy group Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The average annual premium for a family in Florida rose from $8,400 in 2001 to $10,850 in 2005 after adjusting for inflation, the study found. University of Minnesota researchers who did the study did not look at co-payments for doctors, drugs and other services, which also have crept upward each year.
Researchers said the figures are the most recent for which complete data are available.
"The trend shows no sign of slowing down," said John Erb, a corporate benefits expert at Deloitte & Touche in South Florida, which is not affiliated with the study. "Health insurance is so incredibly expensive. $10,000 a year is a BMW lease payment."
The rise in Florida health premiums mirrors the national trend, with costs up by about 30 percent over the five-year period. About half of Florida employers, 51.2 percent, were offering health coverage in 2005, down from 56.7 percent five years earlier.
Those are big reasons the number of uninsured people in Florida has grown by 19 percent, to 3.7 million – about one in four adults.
Other findings of the study (which can be read in full at www.rwjf.org):
Florida families paid 32 percent of the cost of their health care insurance, on average, in 2005; employers paid the rest. That's up from 28 percent in 2001.
The percentage of Florida employeeswith health coverage fell from 68 percent in 2001 to 63 percent four years later. That's below the national average of 67.5 percent.
The median income in Florida rose by less than 2 percent after inflation over the five years, to $39,849 in 2005. That's $3,000 below the national average.
"Fewer people can pay their portion of the premium, and fewer employers are able to offer insurance benefits. This research shows that an ever-increasing number of people will join America's uninsured unless our nation's leaders act to reform our health care system," said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the foundation.
Health care costs are on the political agenda this year, with Gov. Charlie Crist proposing a plan of lower-cost, lower-benefits insurance and all three presidential candidates offering plans to extend coverage to more Americans.
Robert Cusimano hopes something changes. The self-employed owner of a Cooper City promotions firm, Cusimano said he and his wife had to cut back to a high-deductible, hospital-only policy after she stopped working and they lost her employer coverage. Full coverage on their own cost $1,000 a month plus a $2,500 deductible each.
"In effect, we were paying $17,000 a year before they covered a dime," said Cusimano, 61. "The employer coverage was high but this was worse. It's a terrible situation. Until they fix it, we're all in trouble."
Erb said he has been predicting for two decades that the nation's health insurance system would need an overhaul, but it hasn't happened. In general, he said, people remain willing to pay more each year to keep coverage.
"We can probably struggle on for several more years," Erb said.
Source: Bob LaMendola Sun-Sentinel.com
April 7 2008
If health-care reform lags slightly behind American Idol as a water-cooler topic in your office, it might be because you're one of the 160 million — or 3 out of 5 non-elderly Americans — whose employers pony up for your insurance. That cushy deal is changing, thanks to Americans' Oreo-eating, couch-hugging, nicotine-clinging ways. Soon the boss may tell employees to get healthy — or get lost.
The health-care contract between American workers and their employers began when Franklin D. Roosevelt left health care out of his New Deal. Labor restrictions, tax breaks and accounting rules induced employers to offer private health insurance to workers. In 1940, 21 million Americans were enrolled in company-sponsored health plans; by 1950, 142 million. Privatized health insurance seemed like a glorious triumph for capitalism. Keep government out; let industry thrive!
Then costs exploded. Health-care expenditures in the U.S. totaled $27 billion in 1960; in 2005, $2 trillion. Oh, workers paid their part, in the form of premiums and co-pays. But as benefits grew more generous, employees' contributions shrank, from 48% of all health-care costs in 1960 to 15% in 2000, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Employers balked. So, along came managed care, as well as a jumble of other cost-tamping innovations, including high-deductible plans and health-savings accounts.
The latest innovation may wind up having the biggest impact of all: a crackdown on workers' poor health habits involving both the carrot and the (cancer) stick. See, American workers today are about as fit as caged hamsters with all-day access to the nut bowl. Our collective obesity, inactivity and refusal to part with the smokes have led to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Who foots the bill? The boss. Who gets the blame? The boss. More than half of us cite work demands for our refusal to put down the Ho Hos and do a push-up. Eighty-four percent of Americans say we'd get healthy — honest — if only the boss insisted.
The boss is insisting. Verizon Wireless, Microsoft and Dow Chemical dangle cash bonuses for workers who lose weight or stop smoking. A growing number of employers assign "health coaches" to monitor workers' diets and lifestyles. Two-thirds of companies offer so-called wellness programs. Office-furniture maker Steelcase is marketing a treadmill equipped with a computer: a hamster wheel with e-mail.
Some bosses are done being nice. They're firing workers for smoking, and they're screening job applicants for nicotine. Your home is no haven: Gary Ross of San Francisco was canned by a telecommunications company for using legal, medically prescribed marijuana to ease chronic back pain from injuries sustained in the Air Force. In December, a state court upheld the firing. With costs rising, count on employers to keep truffling for ways to save a buck. Count on higher premiums and deductibles, tighter restrictions on treatments, more intrusive screening and monitoring. Don't be gobsmacked if genetic testing figures into employment sooner or later. Or if want ads begin to ask for — along with fluency in Java — a clean bill of health.
Article Source: www.time.com
By LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN
April 6 2008
America's Wellness Program has a new look, we hope you enjoy our new site.
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