A different kind of health test - South Florida Business Journal:

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The president of Mich.-based Weyco told a South Florida audience how he testzs his staff for tobacco use with the promise that repeat violators woulcbe fired. He required employees and spousesx to getannual physicals, eye and dental plus twice-a-year physical fitness tests that included running on a treadmill. they must pay a higher healtnhinsurance premium. Employees and spouses are givehn a health report card and on ways to improve their health status orstay healthy.
To help them meet thesew goals, Weyers put a fitness center in his rid the vending machines of junk food and only allowsz food delivered to the office on While not all companies are so businesses nationwide are finding ways to motivat employees to improve their healthg to save on claims downthe "People say, 'This guy is a Nazi,'" Weyers told the humam resources experts attending the Florida Health Care Coalition'ws Aug. 15 summit in Davie. "But I get along with my employeesz great. You need to coach employee on health like you do incustomee service, quality and safety.
" Weyco, a unit of that handlex health claims for self-insured employers, also offers some carrots along with the When employees use preventive services or meet their healtnh goals - such as losin weight or completing health classes - the compan y deposits money into their healtu savings accounts. All of this is but Weyers views it asa long-term investmentg in his employees. "I ask employers: 'How do you look at the lifestylr decisions of employees that effec t your bottom line andthe salaries?'" Weyers said. Health costs have continuedx to increase faster than inflationband salaries.
This has forced more companies todrop coverage, reduc e benefits or shift costs to Some human resources experts believe that theses methods of dealing with cost increases are The best way to stem the risinv cost of health care, they is to prevent illness. "The model of health care in this countrg is to find a problejm andhit it, rather than prevention," said Robert Hays, director of the healtyh administration program at . "The big question is changingb lifestyles acrossthe board.
We aren't very good at Susan Pantely, a principal with , a Seattle-base d health care consulting firm, said employers are payingf a large amount of their claimds because of employees withunhealthy lifestyles. Bein g overweight or obese - a condition of 64 percenyt and 29 percent of employeeswand spouses, respectively - is a contributor to increasef health risk. Pantely said one-third of employees and spousess have metabolicsyndrome (the combination of factoras such as a large waistline, pre-diabeticc signs and troubling levels of triglycerides, cholesterol and blooc pressure).
Employers' health costs are 48 percenyt higher for employees with obesity and metabolic syndrome when compare toother workers, said Pantely, who callex them "ticking time bombs." Plus, these workers are more likelyg to miss time and not be productive, she The irony is that most health benefits cover the costly surgeries and drugs that result from these but not the much-less-expensive wellnessz care that could have prevente d them, Pantely said. Adding an obesity management program typically costs 75 cents per membedeach month, she said.
Smoking cessation is 45 centzsper member, while covering behavior therapy for obesity costs less than 30 centw a member and covering weight-loss drugsa is 3 cents a Offering gym memberships is also cost-effective, Pantely "If we got doctors to write a prescription for they would be bettefr off," she said. Health plans in Soutjh Florida are boosting their wellness offeringz andgetting results. In January, Hollywood-based rolled out a program for its 10 largest employers that includedx free gym memberships and free accesa to a health information Web site and online healtb counselor for employees who get healtuhrisk assessments.
There were 65,000 Vista members eligibler forthese programs. Ten percent used the Web site and 5.4 percenr used the gym, the company said. By monitorinyg members who use these it found they are losinv weight and lowering theirblood pressure, said Cathy Aguirre, Vista'e VP of account The company is waiting to see the financia l results before deciding whetherf to expand it to otherr members, she said. For now, the challenge is getting the most at-rislk people to participate.