|
Major Employer Coalition, Incentives and Technology Provider Announce Partnership to Encourage Healthy Employee Behavior
Collaboration to Allow Employers to Access Consumer Incentives Management Platform
CHICAGO, IL — July 12, 2007 — More than 2 million employees of approximately 80 of the nation’s largest companies may become eligible for financial incentives to participate in health and productivity management programs under a preferred provider arrangement announced today.
Under the agreement, member companies of the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), one of the nation’s largest coalitions of public and private employers, will be offered health and wellness incentives programs administered by IncentOne, a leading national provider of integrated incentive solutions. The Chicago-based MBGH will offer IncentOne’s technology-enabled incentive programs, including the Healthy Choice Award™ and Health Power™, to member companies in order to curb health costs and improve employee health and productivity.
“A good health care strategy includes health benefits and programs that incentivize employees to manage their own health,” said Larry Boress, chief executive officer of MBGH. “We are proud to partner with IncentOne to ensure that employers have a reputable means to provide those incentives.”
According to a recent MBGH Readiness to Change survey, 95 percent of employers agree that there is a link between an employee’s health and his or her productivity; and 62 percent of employers who view themselves as “leading edge” will provide cash or other incentives for motivating employees to use preventive services, compared with 34 percent of other employers.
These results comport with a recent survey of major U.S. employers conducted by IncentOne in conjunction with The ERISA Industry Committee and the National Association of Manufacturers, which found that three-quarters of major employers offer health management programs to their employees, and of those, two-thirds encourage their employees to participate with incentives. The survey even found that the majority of employers who do not use incentives believe that incentives are a good idea, leading to higher return on investment, better health, and higher productivity. (That report, Employee Health and Productivity Programs: The Use of Incentives, can be found online at www.IncentOne.com/surveyresults.)
“Employers understand that investing in their employees’ health is both the smart thing to do and the right thing to do,” said IncentOne president Michael Dermer. “The technology to deliver incentives to large employers who have multiple providers is critical to the success of their health management programs. We are honored that the Midwest Business Group on Health, with its long history of helping its members obtain value for their health care benefit dollar, has chosen IncentOne to ensure that healthy behaviors are rewarded.”
#
About the Midwest Business Group on Health
The Chicago based, Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) was founded in 1980 by a few large Midwest employers to help employers obtain more value from their health care benefit dollars and improve the health status of their constituents. Today, MBGH is one of the nation’s leading coalitions of private and public employers. MBGH’s 80+ members provide health benefits coverage to over 2 million lives, spending more than $2.3 billion on health care benefits on an annual basis. Organized as a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation, MBGH offers employers a variety of health benefit educational seminars, networking opportunities, quality and community initiatives, demonstration projects and group purchasing programs. MBGH is a member of the National Business Coalition on Health.
About IncentOne
IncentOne provides integrated incentive solutions to employers, from small businesses to the FORTUNE 500, including half of the FORTUNE 50. IncentOne’s technology solutions provide the tools to drive health care cost reduction and productivity improvement. Read its recent issue brief, The Art and Science of Health Incentives, at www.IncentOne.com/IssueBrief. For more information, please visit www.IncentOne.com.
# # #
|
