Spending $400,000 a year on a program to promote better health for employees saved Oakland County, Mich. $12 million on employee health care insurance.
Before the program was started the projected amount to spend on health care was at $50 million for 2010 but the county ended up only paying $38 million this year.
On Fox News Brooke L. Patterson talks about how and why he started this $400,000 dollar campaign.
The idea for the campaign is for employees to become aware of medical risks before the risks actually take effect. Patterson institutes this by having employees fill out a health survey, get blood drawn, sugar levels checked, blood pressure taken and other basic tests done. Employees also fill out a risk assessment form and are given a $100 gift card for their participation.
In USA Today Human Resources Director Nancy Scarlet says the cost is well worth it, ""In light of all the stuff we have going on — pay cuts and asking employees to pay more for their health care — this is one of those givebacks," she said. "It's really a small price."
Not only is Mich. County saving money on insurance but employees are becoming aware of medical problems before they become an actual problem and employees get $100 to sweeten the deal.
According to freep.com Patterson launched the campaign four years ago in order to "bring area hospital suppliers, medical device makers and educators together to promote his county and region as a medical destination similar to a Mayo or Cleveland Clinic"--Cleveland is one of the top four hospitals in the United States.
Back in 2006 Patterson worried about the 20 percent jump in health care costs and started the awareness campaign that saved Oakland County, Mich. $12 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment