What to keep in mind when assessing your health

Planning for retirement is about more than ensuring your finances will be sufficient to meet needs. Planning for those golden years is also about making sure you’ll be in good enough health to enjoy the things that people look forward to doing.

As the U.S. population ages, there has been a rise in some health-related issues, particularly long-term cardiovascular and pulmonary problems associated with obesity and smoking.

But for employees of Community Media Group there is an option to take charge of personal health through the Wellness401k program offered by the Tedrick Group, a risk management solutions company. Beginning September 1 and rolling out throughout the remainder of 2017 The Tedrick Group will expand the Wellness401k program to many of its CMG clients. CMG implemented the Wellness401k program last year and it’s been received positively. Many employees who have taken part in the program have quit smoking and shed some extra weight.

The Wellness401k program is voluntary for employees, but it’s a plan that can provide enormous long-term benefits, as it can help map out strategies for addressing health needs and goals. Modeled in some ways after a traditional financial 401k, the wellness plan is designed to help people enjoy good health through their retirement years so they can enjoy the money they’ve saved through their working life.

“This helps employers bring new strategies to employees so they can develop strategies for their health,” says Nate Mast of the Tedrick Group. “This is about more than insurance, this is about providing solutions to employers.”

Mast says the changing dynamic of health insurance costs makes the Wellness401k program a smart investment.

“If we can work together and be smarter health care consumers, we can improve our benefits and pay less,” he says.

The Wellness401k plan not only helps those it covers map out strategies for ensuring good health through the golden years, Mast says, it is beneficial for employers as it can drive health costs down, a key player in business expenditures. Scott Giles, a Tedrick colleague of Mast’s, says the plan will certainly be good for employers and their costs, but it ultimately will resonate with employees who can manage their long-term health goals.

“Healthier employees are more productive,” Giles says. “There is less absenteeism. This also puts employees into a position where they will likely want to remain with that company for the long term. Healthier employees will have a dramatic impact on the bottom line of costs.”

Mast was part of a group of Tedrick personnel who presented the Wellness401k plan to CMG and will help roll it out for the remainder of 2017.

Employees who participate in the Wellness401k plan learn more about their personal health by taking a Health Risk Assessment — something CMG executives also took during the Tedrick presentation. The assessment asks employees questions about health conditions and lifestyle. Questions cover smoking habits, drinking alcohol, exercising and more. It also includes blood tests and blood pressure readings. When the assessment is completed it's sent off to a lab, and the results are returned to those who took it within a period of 30 to 45 days.

The document that is returned is meant to be shared with health care professionals. Assessments are returned with suggestions on how people can improve their overall health. The program is designed to allow employees to take steps to manage their own health in a low-risk non-intrusive way, Giles says. As an example, he says employers can learn if there is a preponderance of diabetes among their workforce, or a large number of smokers among the employees. From that information, employers can provide various services to help their employees address any health concerns, such as access to nutritionists or programs that will help smokers quit.

“This is why we put all that money in our 401k, so we can enjoy it,” Giles says. “But you have to be in good health.”

But the Wellness401k program is more than just a document showing a yearly snapshot of an individual’s health. It also includes tools that provide assistance for someone looking to quit smoking or lose weight.

As individuals are different, so too is the Wellness401k program. Giles says it’s not a one size fits all approach.

“The (covered) individuals and the primary care physician are the best ones who can handle their care, which is where you’ll see individual customization,” Giles says.

Mast adds the assessment will provide employers with information about the top health concerns at each covered facility and allow them to adopt programs to address those issues.