Healthy Living Earns You Cash By Lori Browne, PAHM While various insurance companies around the country
limit hospital visits and prescriptions drugs because it re- duces claims, thereby increasing profit margins; several insurance companies here in New York State are taking a different approach to achieve the same results. Several very prominent insurance companies in upstate New York are trying to change the mindset of the consumer through incentives to get healthy and stay healthy. They believe in it so much, that when I was visiting Excellus BCBS, their employees were all wearing pedometers, and competing in a contest for the most number of steps. Thirty percent of the insured population eats right and exercises routinely without fail, without excuses. Of course, those are the people we should all love, because without them, insurance costs would be much higher. And of course, the insurance companies love those people too, but they are not the ones the insurance companies look to change. And while it isn’t enough that the insurance com- panies remind the insured all the time to get mammograms or prostrate exams, and to reduce their risk for diabetes and heart disease, the reality is most want something in return for their good behavior. We are a society motivated by money including being paid for getting healthy! If you are like many, and looking for ways to put money
back in your pocket during these difficult economic times consider taking better care of yourself and see how it pays off… literally. Two local insurance companies will make contributions to your bank account for the trade off of be- coming physically active, eating nutritionally and exer- cising.
Excellus BCBS is the upstate New York leader in re- turning money in trade for an honor system of healthy behaviors called HealthyRewards. If you have a Healthy- Blue insurance policy, you should be collecting on it. I decided one Sunday night to check out the Excellus BCBS Healthy Rewards website. I set up a user ID and password, and then answered some questions about my current health status; called a Health Risk Assessment. I earned $35.00 in 20 minutes. How’s that for an Easy but- ton? And, because I don’t smoke, and had a mammogram in the last two years, they gave me another $40.00. I de- cided to answer a few more questions. This was easier than I thought. I have a living will and health care proxy, so I earned another $20.00. I had uncovered a gemstone. I found myself looking over the website for ways to earn more money. I looked up information on nutrition, and earned another $10.00 reading about topics that I was in- terested in. In less than 1 hour, I had earned $98.00. I hit
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the Get Rewards button at the top of the webpage, and saw that I could spend my $98.00 from a catalog of gifts, get a debit card, or request a check. In two weeks, I had a check in my mail box. My husband went on- line and did the same, earning another $85.00. That’s just the begin- ning. Excellus BCBS will pay up to $500 to each of us for exercising, eating right, and learning more about healthy behaviors. MVP’s TriVantage plan has a similar program. They too
have realized any physical activity is worth some reward money to their insured. Go bowling and they will pay you for it. Go skiing, enroll the kids in a soccer program, take a rumba class, etc, and they will pay you. Up to $600.00 a family. CDPHP offers up to $365.00 of LifePoints for joining a
gym, playing in a sports league, or getting a routine physi- cal. LifePoints are redeemable for gift cards at Lowe’s, Macy’s, and CVS Pharmacy to name a few. UnitedHealthcare offers free Flexible Spending pro-
grams and Cobra Administration with their health plans; while EmblemHealth offers a unique Caregiver Toolkit, discounts on Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, gym mem- berships, and nutritional counseling. Both Excellus BCBS and MVPHealthcare also offer numerous discounts at a large number of vendors. Video’s, DVD’s, and other free educational material are available at your fingertips. My favorite free item is the health coaching available through UnitedHealthcare, Excellus BCBS, and MVPHealthcare. Once a week, through my Excellus BCBS plan, a nurse will call me to talk about my healthy eating for the week. It was as simple as asking and it’s free. In addition to the healthy living incentives; check out
the “Forgotten Funds” tab at the Excellus BCBS website:
https://www.excellusbcbs.com/wps/portal/xl/gst/cnt/nr/ forgottenfunds/ and see if your name appears. Each Au- gust, Excellus BCBS posts names of those who may be due money for various reasons. If the funds are not re- trieved, Excellus BCBS is required by law to forward the money to New York State. While the insurance companies benefit from our being healthy, it’s a win-win for us as well. If you are not in a plan that offers incentives, call our office to see how you can put money back in your pocket as well as into your employee’s pockets. Everyone will benefit. Lori Browne is Vice President of The Exchange Agency
Inc., an insurance agency subdivision of the Syracuse Builders Exchange, an on-site insurance broker for em- ployee benefits.
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