From the Editor
Editor's Notes May/June 2012
Financial Incentives for Workplace Health Promotion: What Is Equitable, What Is Sustainable, and What Drives Healthy Behaviors?
''What kind of financial incentives should I build into my health promotion program?'' This is the question I have been asked most often by benefits and program managers in the last year. The ''wellness incentive'' provisions (section 2705 (1)) in the Affordable Care Act that allow employers to offer premium discounts for employees who achieve health goals are no doubt the cause of the increased interest, but financial incentives have been a hot topic in workplace health promotion for years.
The long-standing interest in financial incentives is not surprising. When financial incentives are integrated into health plan premiums, they have the potential to push participation rates in health promotion program from the 20% to 40% range to the 70% to 90% range (2,3) and to also provide a mechanism to fund comprehensive health promotion programs at no net cost to employers or employees.(4) My recommended approach and the provisions from section 2705 are summarized in the sidebars. These are extracted from the article cited above.(4)
If you are not familiar with the provisions or approach, you may want to read those before you read the rest of the article.
I considered three primary factors in developing my recommended approach:
1. What drives healthy behavior?
2. What is equitable to employees?
3. What is financially sustainable for employers?
Read the entire article here
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Producing the Best Health and Financial Outcomes by Using the Most Effective Health Promotion Strategies
Definition of Health Promotion
Health Promotion is the art and science of helping people discover the synergies between their core passions and optimal health, enhancing their motivation to strive for optimal health, and supporting them in changing their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health. Optimal health is a dynamic balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of learning experiences that enhance awareness, increase motivation, and build skills and, most important, through the creation of opportunities that open access to environments that make positive health practices the easiest choice.
Michael P. O'Donnell (2009) Definition of Health Promotion 2.0: Embracing Passion, Enhancing Motivation, Recognizing Dynamic Balance, and Creating Opportunities. American Journal of Health Promotion: September/October 2009, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. iv-iv.
Physical : Fitness. Nutrition. Medical self-care. Control of substance abuse.
Emotional : Care for emotional crisis. Stress Management
Social : Communities. Families. Friends
Intellectual : Educational. Achievement. Career development
Spiritual : Love. Hope. Charity.
