Wellness incentives would reduce health care costs for all

By Sen. Tim Golden

From the presidential debates on television to a neighborly conversation at the corner store, it seems everyone is talking about the skyrocketing cost of health care. Like the old saying about everyone talking about the weather, no one seems to be doing anything about health care costs, either.

The health care situation is one we all have a hand in, whether we know it or not. For example: do you know your blood pressure or cholesterol level? Do you have annual physicals and get screened for preventable diseases? Do you eat healthy and get enough exercise? Have you quit smoking?

Those are personal questions, to be sure, but there is a reason for them. If your answers were “yes,” you are to be congratulated. You are doing your part to hold down health care costs for everyone. If you answered “no” more than once, you should know that you are not alone.

Most people, it seems, wait and wait to adopt healthy lifestyle practices. Someone else, we think, will have the diabetes, heart attack or stroke. Once a preventable health crisis occurs, we learn the hard way that failing to take care of our physical well-being carries a huge price tag – for everyone. Unhealthy lifestyles account for up to 70 percent of the health care dollar, leading to skyrocketing insurance premiums and an increased uninsured population.

Georgia ranks 43rd out of 50 states on the status of our health, so the situation is particularly troubling here. But what will it take to motivate millions of unhealthy Americans to exercise, eat healthy, stop smoking, get preventive screening and take needed medications?

When it comes to behavioral change, financial incentives are the most proven. Wellness is no different. But before we start raising taxes on cigarettes and potato chips, or start fining folks by the pound for being overweight, there is a better solution – one that I plan to present to my colleagues in the Georgia General Assembly when we convene next month.

Business leaders from my hometown have proposed to work with other progressive communities to establish a statewide wellness pilot program to research how monetary incentives could motivate Georgians to live healthier and reduce the risks of serious medical problems.

This program, proposed by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce and the Lowndes County Partnership for Health, would establish the Georgia Health Care Innovations Fund to facilitate the research, creativity and experimentation needed for success. Innovative practices in prevention, disease management, technology, incentives and consumer education will be showcased to demonstrate a return on investment for participating employers and Georgia taxpayers.

Incentives work for other forms of insurance. Safe drivers are rewarded through premium discounts. Non-smokers earn lower life insurance premiums. Georgia businesses receive a 7.5 percent discount on workers' compensation programs when they are certified through Drugs Don't Work program. The proof is clear: incentives lower the risks that cause premiums to increase. The Partnership for Health provides innovative services such as the Partnership Health Center, a free primary care clinic for uninsured workers. For over eight years, they have also been providing wellness and disease management services for local self-insured employers and are well-positioned to provide "boots on the ground" expertise to support the wellness pilot program.

Wellness incentives can be a powerful tool to solve our health care crisis. Langdale Industries in Valdosta, a family-owned, self-insured company with 1,300 employees, is already on the cutting edge of this approach – with successful results.

“In 1999, Langdale’s health care costs were $ 5,400 per employee, per year, and getting ready to skyrocket past $6,000,” said Mark Wilson, the company’s vice president for human resources. “We made proactive changes to our plan’s design and benefits, began paying claims in-house and added incentives to wellness and disease management programs.”

The results: over $3 million in health care costs were saved, and premiums stayed level for seven years despite double-digit increases in market trends.

Wellness incentives such as the Langdale program are an emerging and powerful solution to the health care crisis. According to a recent survey, 70 percent of large employers plan to add wellness incentives by 2009. The health care problem is crying out for this type of innovative thinking.

When implemented, such wellness incentives could take one or more of several forms. For example, by taking proper health exams, screenings and immunizations, quitting smoking, eating healthier, exercising and/or losing weight, employees could earn:

~ Rewards points that could be redeemed for merchandise, travel, etc.
~ Insurance premium discounts
~ Cash bonuses

More importantly, the employee would be healthier – resulting in lower health care costs for everyone.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has already been made aware of this proposal, and he has responded positively. I look forward to working with him on a bipartisan initiative to launch this program and uncover “best practice” wellness incentives. Initially designed for self-insured employers, the program would eventually be expanded, working with the insurance companies, to small business plans and even individual consumers.

By creating the Health Care Innovations Fund and the Wellness Incentive Pilot Program, Georgia can not only give folks a nudge toward a healthier lifestyle, but take a leading role in fixing the national health care crisis.

• Sen. Tim Golden (D-Valdosta) represents Georgia Senate District 8 and is Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.