By Daryll J. Lund, WBA-EBC president
Daryll Lund
It’s no secret the cost of today’s health care benefits is on the minds of both employers and employees. Both look for ways to reduce costs while still being able to offer and have access to a strong benefits package. One solution where WBA’s subsidiary, the Wisconsin Bankers Association Employee Benefits Corporation (WBA-EBC) can help is through employee wellness programs such as the one in partnership with UnitedHealthcare (UHC).
With UnitedHealthcare Rewards (UHC Rewards), employees and their spouse can each earn up to $1,000 by completing a variety of actions, including things employees may already be doing. These activities can help employees maintain or develop healthy habits which in turn could help banks with less claims and perhaps a better renewal rate.
The UHC Rewards program is flexible as participants choose the reward activities to complete and how earnings are redeemed. Employees may earn rewards through tracker activities, preventative care, and additional activities such as taking a health survey or completing a 24/7 virtual visit. Rewards may be redeemed as a digital gift card, HSA or HRA deposit, put toward the purchase of a tracker, or a One Pass Select® membership — a fitness membership and healthy lifestyle program.
The UHC Rewards are accessible through the homepage in the UHC app. Employees can earn $40 just for activating UHC Rewards, which includes the full list of rewardable activities that participants can choose to complete. The app also allows employees to connect to care providers.
WBA-EBC partnered with UHC to offer even more ways to win through its Summer UHC Rewards Competition. All WBA banks with UHC Rewards were competing to see who could achieve the highest average reward per participating member. To encourage participation, many used Bingo cards with activities identified in each square to mark off once completed. The competition runs from June through the end of August, when the winning bank receives a catered lunch and participants at the bank are entered into a drawing for raffle prizes. This fun competition is just another way employers can offer cost-savings options to staff while also demonstrating care towards their overall health.
To learn more about employee wellness programs, reach out to Jeff Wagner, vice president of WBA-EBC, at jwagner@wisbank.com or 608-279-8148.
