Employee Health Insurance
Employee health insurance is one of the core benefits that most employees look for when they are switching jobs or
starting a new career. Health insurance coverage is an absolute necessity for couples that are looking have children,
employees that work in harsh working conditions, individuals that play sports, and any person that is concerned about
their own health and the health of their spouse and dependents.
If employee health insurance was free and included no co-pay many people would go to the hospital for routine
checkups on a monthly or even weekly basis. The problem that arises with free healthcare and what amounts to being
socialized medicine is that there are simply not enough healthcare resources to meet the demand of the marketplace.
The United States operates under an free market policy which allows consumer supply and demand to act as the
“invisible hand” that determines the prices and availability of goods and services. Many countries such as Canada and
the United Kingdom have tried to offer free healthcare benefits for the entire country and have seen both positive and
negative results.
In the United Sta tes, healthcare consumers can go to any hospital and receive service within the matter of a few hours
in most cases. Scheduling appointments is usually a breeze for normal health services. One of the problems that
Canada and the United Kingdom have run into is that the demand for healthcare services is so high that the waiting lists
for health services can be months or even years for routine services.
With the new Presidency and Barack Obama, it is likely that America’s healthcare policies will change dramatically. This
being the case, what should the expectation of employers who offer employee health insurance be for covering the cost
of care? At the end of the day, insurance companies, government organizations, and individuals will realize lower
premiums for the cost of care if their populations are healthier.
One of the best ways to make sure that your employee population is healthy is by implementing an employee
healthcare strategy that utilizes a wellness program. Wellness programs usually have some type of Health Risk
Assessment as well as Health Screening to measure and monitor the status of employee health. Other interventions
such as Activity Management and Stress Management can be crucial to make sure that the physical and emotional
health for employees is maximized.
Normalize Blood Pressure
Many CHIP participants that are hypertensive at the start of the program
dramatically reduce and sometimes eliminate their need for medication.
Lower Cholesterol
19.8% reduction in average total cholesterol in 30 days for those with
baseline cholesterol of higher than 280mg/dl (7.24 mmol/l).
Lower Fasting Blood Glucose
19.9% reduction in average fasting plasma glucose in 30 days for those
with baseline fasting plasma glucose of higher than 125mg/dl (6.94 mmol/l).
Lower BMI