When it comes to staying healthy, the best offense is a good defense: Eating well and exercising to maintain a healthy weight, limiting unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking excessively, and managing stress. Unfortunately for most Americans, the pressures of work and life take priority over these preventative measures — which is why preventative, chronic health issues like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart problems are so prevalent.
Employers are obviously incentivized to help employees maintain their health: When employees are healthy, they’re able to perform at their best. And of course, from a financial perspective, they’re also less likely to file large insurance claims related to their health.
This is why so many insurance providers have begun to work with employers to encourage preventative healthcare among employees. Many insurance providers offer discounts or ‘credits’ to employers (which are passed to employees) to encourage preventative care. These can be in the form of discounts on premiums, wellness benefits, or wellness credits which can be used to sponsor programs that further support employee wellbeing. It’s in the best interest of the employer and the employee to take full advantage of these programs — so it’s up to employers to make sure they are aware of the benefits available to them.
Here’s a rundown of how employers can help employees make the most of the wellbeing benefits available to them, and how Paytient can help to extend those benefits further.
Discounts on Premiums:
One straight-forward approach that some employers have taken is to offer discounts on insurance premiums for employees who participate in their wellbeing program. For example, an employer might offer a $100 premium discount for every employee who participates in their Fitbit fitness tracking program, and another $100 off of their spouse’s premium for their participation. These discounts are typically offered from the insurance provider to the employer, who then passes it along to their employees.
It’s worth it for employers (or more likely, benefits managers) to investigate this as an avenue to encourage wellbeing among employees.
Wellness Credits from Insurance Provider:
Many insurance providers offer ‘wellness credits’ to employers who incentivize wellbeing among their employees. These credits are basically cash that insurance providers give to employers specifically to use towards boosting employee wellbeing. Often, employers will use these funds to offer subsidized gym memberships or another specific benefit. However, a better use of these funds would be to use those dollars to provide Paytient to employees.
Offering Paytient costs just a few dollars per month per employee, and can help employees take advantage of all of the wellness benefits (and standard medical benefits) included in their insurance plan. Instead of pigeon-holing those funds into a specific wellness benefit that employees may or may not want, offering Paytient gives employees the opportunity to choose how to spend their money in the way that benefits their health most.
Wellness Benefits from Insurance Provider:
Many insurance plans include discounts and other incentives to encourage members to take care of their physical and mental health. Employers should work to make sure that employees are aware of these benefits, especially because they come at no additional cost to the employer.
These types of wellness benefits can include:
- Gym memberships: This can take the form of discounts on gym memberships, access to online fitness classes, or credits for qualifying gym memberships.
- Weight-loss programs: Many insurance providers offer discounts to encourage members to join weight loss programs, such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig.
- Acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic services: Some insurance providers offer discounted rates for wellness treatments as part of their benefits package. Others will offer discounted rates from participating providers to encourage members to utilize these treatments.
- Free fitness trackers: Some insurance providers offer a free fitness tracker, such as a Fitbit, to encourage members to exercise.
It’s worth mentioning that employees can use their Paytient Visa Debit Card to pay for any of these wellness-boosting services. If the upfront cost of these treatments or services is a concern, even with the discounts, employees can use their Paytient card to pay for them when they need them, and then pay them off over time.
When it comes to staying healthy, the best offense is a good defense: Employers have every incentive to encourage their employees to take full advantage of the wellness benefits offered to them through their insurance provider. For employers looking to boost their employees’ wellbeing, using wellness credits to offer Paytient is simply a smart move.
To learn more about Paytient, contact our sales team.
