The integration of an online platform for promoting and facilitating employee wellness led to a surge in participation by state employees in Colorado.
Executives say contracting with Welltok, creator of the health optimization platform CaféWell, moved the engagement dial for participation in many options offered to employees.
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"More than 10,000 state employees (30 percent of the qualified population) have started participating in a range of health activities since the launch of Welltok's CaféWell health incentive program in July 2013," the state said in a release. "Half of participants have completed a Health Risk Assessment with their insurer through CaféWell, which is more than a 650 percent increase in HRA completion compared with the prior year."
Welltok was brought in to power the wellness services offered to state workers through health care providers UnitedHealth and Kaiser Permanente.
Welltok offers clients its CaféWell Health Optimization Platform that, Welltok co-founder and chief growth officer Scott Rotermund said, "organizes the growing spectrum of health and condition management programs, apps and digital tracking devices; drives engagement by providing personalized guidance and incentives, as well as leveraging social, gaming and cognitive computing technologies; and improves healthcare value for consumers and the healthcare system."
"The incentives to participate didn't change after we were brought in," he said. A key, Rotermund said, is to recognize that each person's health is distinct and requires a customized wellness plan. The CaféWell platform offers that, he said, which increases engagement.
The state offers employees an incentive, deducted from their premium, of up to $20 a month, or $240 annually, to participate in its health optimization program.
One strategy Welltok uses is to promote this seemingly small amount of money in various ways to employees so that they focus on what they can do with the $240 they would have by year-end. Stress-relief suggestions such as a visit to a spa or a trip to the beach enhance the value of the incentive in employees' minds, Rotermund said.
The state said that "program engagement rates have been impressive, with employees participating in numerous challenges, activities and programs, ranging from nutrition and stress management to smoking cessation." Among the highlights of the first year with CaféWell:
- Nearly 20 percent of participants joined the "Drink Water" challenge, committing to drinking 64 ounces of water each day;
- Thousands participated in nutrition challenges; and
- Stress relief programs earned "rave reviews from participants."
"It led to incredible participation rates — 40 percent-plus participated. The state had never seen that kind of participation rate," Rotermund said.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
