To continue to bring you the best resources and education available in the corporate wellness space, Corporate Wellness Magazine has identified the leaders in the industry. We will be providing Q&A's with these leaders, who were awarded for their achievements at the 4th Annual Employer Healthcare and Benefits Conference. We will begin this series with a profile of the program "Health to Wealth".
Corporate Wellness Magazine: Can you please explain the "Health to Wealth" program?
Advocate Health Care: The mission of the program is to educate associates about the costs associated with being unhealthy, and the benefits of bringing your best health into retirement. Our program is designed to support associates' health throughout their careers and to help them understand the cost of healthcare during retirement.
By offering comprehensive health and wellness benefits through Healthe You, our associates understand that by staying healthy, they are able to allocate unused health plan dollars to a health reimbursement account and use these funds for medical expenses during retirement. Additionally, we provide tools and support to plan for a financially stable retirement and enjoy opportunities in the next stage of life.
CWM: What were the goals of the program?
AHC: The goal of the program is to develop a holistic approach to employee benefits as part of Advocate Health Care's total rewards strategy. The program supports our strategy to be an employer of choice so that we can attract and retain the very best people.
Our commitment to associates who make their careers here is that we will help you along the way so that you are prepared for retirement with good health and a sound financial plan. A goal of our program is also to help associates manage, maintain or improve their health, which allows us to manage the trend in our healthcare spending.
CWM: Have these goals been met?
AHC: We are able to identify program successes by looking at health outcomes and engagement indicators for the organization. Advocate's associate satisfaction scores rank consistently in the 94th percentile, meeting our goal as an organization to provide a great place for associates to work.
Since implementing the Healthe You program, our average health care trend over the past three years is 0.9 percent, compared to the market trend of 7 percent. This positive financial impact reinforces our commitment to invest in this robust program.
CWM: What changes have you seen since implementing the program?
AHC: Associates are more engaged in taking care of themselves, which supports our mission to build a culture of health and wellness. Using health outcomes and behavior change data, we have designed and offered a variety of robust programs based on associates' health needs, desired programs and readiness to change.
Associates also have come forward to be champions and share personal stories about how the Healthe You programs provided by Advocate have changed their lives.
CWM: What is in the future for the "Health to Wealth" program?
AHC: Our programs are constantly evolving; we are always providing new resources and incentives to encourage associates to bring their best health into the future and to plan for a secure retirement. As a leader in healthcare, we are role models for wellness and encourage healthy behaviors among our associates.
It is for this reason we have added a financial incentive for 2014 to encourage associates to be tobacco-free. We are providing a range of resources to associates who want to be tobacco-free and bring their best health into the future. Our commitment to better prepare our associates for retirement inspired the launch of Transitions to Healthe Retirement.
The program is designed to provide associates with education and tools throughout their careers to achieve a healthy, secure retirement. These resources include financial planning tools and personal support to help associates understand how their benefits transition during retirement; as well as how Social Security and Medicare work.
These tools further demonstrate the importance of how being healthy now impacts your health and financial future during retirement. Thank you Advocate Health Care for taking the time to answer these questions and for creating a great program to help your employees become healthier. Congratulations on receiving your leadership award!
