Ldquo Wellness Programs

2844 Words12 Pages
Running Head: Wellness Programs “Wellness Programs” Abstract Rising healthcare costs have become the crux of companies and working families in the United States. This rise in healthcare costs has created a financial struggle for working families and companies across the United States. This paper will focus on a few select companies’ efforts to combat the rising cost of healthcare and the types of Wellness Programs some companies are implementing in an attempt to cut the cost of future healthcare. It will further attempt to investigate the problems that some companies have faced while developing these programs and the solutions they have established in an effort to eradicate these problems. Introduction In…show more content…
Alabama’s wellness premium discount program will focus on four main health issues; blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and body mass index. Employees for the state of Alabama will be offered a $25.00 wellness premium incentive discount on their single coverage, provided they meet the baseline readings for the aforementioned health issues. This discount will be offered in addition to their $25.00 premium incentive discount for non-smokers and their SEIB Wellness program, a program that is already in place for state employees. The SEIB Wellness program is completely voluntary and is a program set up to aid the state employee with preventative healthcare (SEIB, 2008). This program provides free screenings during work hours for several serious medical conditions like diabetes, pulse, blood pressure, Body mass index (BMI) only to name a few. If the state employee finds after the screening that they are at risk for one or more of these serious health conditions they may also be eligible for a voucher to waive the co-pay at their physicians’ office in the event they must go in for a follow-up exam (ALSEIB,…show more content…
Dell, Pepsi Bottling Group, General Electric, and the State of Alabama’s wellness programs are clearly focused on preventative healthcare. These wellness programs are designed to detect the four leading causes of serious illnesses; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high glucose levels, and a high body mass index. It is common knowledge that each of these four health issues can and has lead to much more serious health issues when not treated in a timely manner. This is why one of the unique things about wellness programs is that they do not just result in monetary savings; they also save lives because of their preventative nature. Although the requirements that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and federal statues have set for wellness programs are strict, it can be seen that companies Human Resource Departments are clearly creating wellness programs that will meet the standards of this criteria. These four companies have met the challenges set before them and are well on their way to eradicating the rising costs of
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