Jim Pshock, Founder, President of Bravo Wellness, LLC

As one of eight siblings, now having four children of my own, I’ve been surrounded by little ones my entire life. It’s funny to see that we have an inborn desire to do the things we are told not to do, even if we never cared about that choice until it was taken away from us.

Take the boiling teapot on the stove for instance. No child was thinking about touching it anyway, yet when mother says Don’t touch the teapot or you will burn yourself, touching the teapot is all some children can think about.

Of course I’m one of the kids that had to touch it to make sure mom was right! Guess what? As mom was putting burn cream on my hand and wiping away the tears, I never blamed her for my poor choice. Even as a small child, I knew it was my own fault.

Into adulthood, as we make decisions with important items like insurance, we also see the direct impact of our choices. When we smoke, there is a different rate table for our life insurance. When we have traffic violations, due to our poor judgment, we pay more for our car insurance. When we live in a high-crime neighborhood, auto insurance rates are higher because the likelihood of your car being stolen or damaged is dramatically higher. The basic premise behind all insurance ratings is that reduced risk equals reduced rates.

The Final Wellness Rules for Group Health Plans that were originally published by the Department of Labor in 2007, have made their way into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and they will be expanded in the coming years. Finally, employers can financially motivate real behavior change and reward those who take personal accountability for their actions.

A recent Towers Watson study reported that 56 percent of employers plan to hold employees accountable for a larger share of health plan costs. While the idea of an aggressive results-based program is hard for some to fathom, a phased-in strategy resonates with nearly all employers who take the time to analyze the true source of escalating costs and recognize that tough love is in fact still a way to care for and nurture their employees.

Although the trend toward results-based wellness initiatives is clear, employer’s reasons and timelines for engaging the strategy vary. Some employers, with a strong desire to implement a wellness strategy, but with no budget to do so, have found that surcharges to those who fail to exhibit healthy lifestyle results in categories like blood pressure, cholesterol, tobacco use and body mass, can generate adequate funds to provide a corporate-wide wellness strategy for all employees. 

We also see employers who have invested significant money and resources into wellness, but perceive that the enrolled employees have reached a plateau, or that those employees who need help the most are not engaging in meaningful change. They are often giving discounts and gift cards to individuals who attend an annual health fair, even though they are 20 pounds heavier than last year! Like all money invested into employee development, leaders expect to see measurable results that justify the investment.

Expect more programs to require measurable results before points and rewards are issued, or in some cases, to avoid surcharges. When employees see that their choices directly impact their paycheck, the tough love message employers are willing to make is not just good for the bottom line, it’s helping their treasured employees not get burned by a serious disease.

About the Author:
     Jim Pshock is a leader known for cutting-edge innovation in the healthcare sector. Pshock has developed a comprehensive and unique expertise in the regulations related to governing wellness programs and the practical application of incentives to improve employee health. He frequently presents to regional and national audiences, including human resource professionals, occupational health professionals and insurance industry associations. Pshock’s career spans over 20 years in the health insurance industry including executive positions in technology, operations, sales, marketing and corporate strategy with carriers and third-party administrators. In 2008, Pshock launched Bravo Wellness, LLC and serves as its president. Bravo offers results-based wellness program technology, support and resources to employers and business partners for immediate employer cost savings and employee rewards for actually achieving positive results instead of rewards simply for participating in programs. Bravo Wellness now has over 85 customers using outcome based incentives or penalties for wellness and has coordinated and processed results for over 100,000 participants. Bravo clients are demonstrating both immediate ROI and significant health improvement and Bravo’s experience is helping to form healthcare legislation in America. Pshock resides near Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and four children.