Boardroom

What you need to know

What is an incentive/encouragement–based health and wellness program?

In a participation-only health and wellness program, rewards and incentives are used to motivate plan members to participate in wellness activities, but any rewards or incentives associated with the program result from plan members’ participation, not from the outcomes of those activities.

The following are examples of incentives in a participation-only health and wellness program:

Employees are given paid time off to participate in health fairs

Participants in a walking program receive free athletic apparel

Employees who agree to take a personal health assessment and review their results with a healthcare provider receive a $50 credit toward their healthcare account or health insurance premium contribution

Smokers can enroll in a smoking cessation program at no cost, regardless of whether they successfully quit smoking or not

Participation-only health and wellness programs are not subject to any rules, except that they must be available to all similarly situated individuals (i.e., available to all and subject to non-discrimination rules and regulations).  The challenge with this model is that the different levels of interventions or programs related to shifting a culture are not addressed (e.g., wellness for fun, wellness with something for everyone, or wellness that focuses on risk reduction—high, medium, and low impact programs).

Coaches' Takeaway

Rewards and incentives are used to motivate plan members to participate in wellness activities.

Tools & Resources

CDHPCoach’s Storage Facility, where the Coach has organized and compiled a vast amount of tools and resources for you to access.

Library

Housed here are key components and information within the book, Bend the Healthcare Trend which was the impetus behind the CDHPCoach.

Boardroom

What you need to know