Seema Verma, the CMS Administrator, and Adam
Boehler, the Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, have
been outspoken regarding the need to address proactively keeping people healthy,
instead of waiting until they get sick and require expensive
services. In today’s healthcare world this is known as value-based care.
In value-based care, providers are rewarded
for the relative health of their patients, instead of getting paid to treat
them when they are ill. The management of chronic conditions is a
key to lowering healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes.
What’s the Cost?
60% of all Americans have at least one chronic
condition, and 40% have two or more.
These are the leading drivers of the nation’s $3.3 trillion in annual
health care costs.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that that
eliminating three risk factors – poor diet, inactivity, and smoking –
would prevent: 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of type 2 diabetes; and,
40% of cancer. While elimination might
be unattainable to some, reduction of these is certainly a real goal.
The Need for
Incentives
A survey of 2500 consumers conducted by
Survata in association with HealthEdge in 2018, found that 53% of millennials
want more incentives for healthy behaviors from their health plan. It is well known in the award industry that
properly designed wellness incentive programs can and will produce
results. When just the communications of
the desire for a change in wellness habits doesn’t work, incentives have. They can get employees off the couch, eating
right, smoking less and enrolled and involved in the classes and programs
offered to help them along the way And
they can keep them on the path. Changing
habits is hard, but motivation can help get it done.
A survey
conducted by Incentive Research Foundation revealed that almost 59% of wellness
programs contain gift cards as awards for certain objectives such as weight
loss, exercise, smoking cessation, and enrolling and completing parts of the
program. An Aflac study found that 61%
of employees agree that they have made healthier lifestyle choices because of
these types of wellness activities.
And among those incentives and programs for healthy
behaviors, it has been proven that cash rewards do not have a sustained impact
on life habits. Incentives such as gift cards for healthy habits make a
long-lasting difference, helping to contain costs of healthcare, improve
overall health outcomes and boost employee engagement.
