US employers continue to face double-digit healthcare cost increases that exceed their budgets. With no clear solutions on the horizon, they are extremely concerned. According to Hewitt & Associates', benefits consultants, health care costs are expected to increase at a 13% to 15% annual rate, nearly doubling over the next five years. Depending on the plan, this could mean employer costs could range from approximately $4,000 - $5,500 per employee. Some companies will absorb the majority of next year’s rate hikes, but many will pass along at least 25 percent of the increase to employees, according to Hewitt’s study. However, it is the indirect costs - the hidden losses - which tend to affect the bottom line of most companies. Quantifying these losses can be extremely difficult. What if you found a way for your company to not only quantify these costs, but a way to reduce them as well?
First, we must understand that personal lifestyle decisions greatly affect healthcare costs "Over 70% of our healthcare dollars are spent on preventable diseases!" (Fortis Health 9/00).
LifeStart Wellness Network can provide your employees with cost-effective WellCare practices while improving their awareness to reduce absenteeism and costly sickcare. Let LifeStart teach your employees to take more responsibility for their health and to help combat rising health care costs.
Health
Risk Appraisal
A Health Risk Appraisal is the first step to a WellCare vs. sickcare health
plan. Our HRA summarizes your health status based on your responses to
lifestyle and health history questions using nationally validated screening
tools. This assessment helps employees find their level of risk for many
diseases or illnesses that are prevalent today, and is intended to raise
awareness and motivate them to care better for themselves. The appraisal
grades behavioral as well as measurable risk factors and generates a customized
report. It does not serve as a replacement for proper medical diagnosis
or treatment.
Our HRA is designed for employees that want an actuarially sound scoring
system to motivate employees to use health skills and live healthy lifestyles.
It includes 45 questions, 7 measurements, and 18 blood tests. The Assessment
includes the following:
- Medical history
- Preventive Care
- Health Status
- LifeStyle Blood Profile (Glucose, Triglycerides, Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, GGT and Nicotine)
- Provider System
- Health skills
- Interest in wellness programs
- Optional health measurements for blood pressure, height, weight and circumferences.
- Optional blood nicotine tests
- Other optional blood tests such as prostate specific antigen (PSA), CBC, etc.
Our Easy to follow color-coded Health Risk Report provides a high quality easy-to-understand individual report that gives participants information on how they are doing for the base period. We encourage everyone to repeat the assessment annually to measure progress.
- Compare all participants year-to-year.
- Compare locations with each other and with all LifeStart data.
- Find out whether repeat participants are improving or declining.
- If the employer offers more than one health plan, compare each health plan with the others. Which is doing the best job of keeping your employees healthy?
Blood
Tests
LifeStart can provide on-site blood analysis and incorporate the data
into your individual Health Risk Profile. Some of the more common tests
performed are:
Cholesterol – The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) issued new guidelines on the prevention and management of high cholesterol. The guidelines advise all adults over 20 years of age to have a lipoprotein analysis (including Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL and Triglycerides) once every 5 years.
Glucose -Testing your blood sugar is the only way to know whether your blood sugar is too high, too low or just right. LifeStart utilized two common tests to measure your blood sugar--the hemoglobin A1c test and finger-stick tests.
Blood Chemistry – One way to monitor your health is to evaluate your blood chemistry. Our LifeStyle Blood Profile is one that physicians frequently request as a standard health check-up for their patients. Our 12 Panel test will assess your risk for kidney diseases, liver or muscle damage, hepatitis, gall bladder disease or heart attack.
Blood Nicotine – A blood test can be performed to ensure accuracy in self-reported data.
Complete Blood Counts – This is a more comprehensive test that analyzes the three major types of cells in blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This test is used primarily to diagnose Anemia and cancers.
Prostate
Specific Antigen (PSA) – This test can assess risk for prostate
cancer - a risk test sometimes offered for older men.
Lifestyle/Education
Seminars and Programs
LifeStart offers a variety of health-related seminars including weight
management, stress management and coronary risk reduction. These seminars
and programs are recommended based upon results of health screenings.
Health
Fairs
On-site health fairs offer attendees a variety of clinical tests, including
cholesterol, blood pressure, metabolism, body composition, bone mineral
density testing, etc. In addition, we offer the opportunity to interact
with a variety of health professionals including Dietitians, Exercise
Physiologists, and Physical Therapists.
Flu
Shots
LifeStart offers on-site flu vaccinations administered by Registered Nurses,
proven to help prevent the flu.