While it’s best to encourage all employees to utilize their health benefits, focusing additional engagement efforts on high-risk members can offer a better ROI. That’s because 90% of the nation's $4.5 trillion in annual health care expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions, according to the CDC.
That breakdown includes:
- Employees with Type 2 diabetes face medical expenses 2.6 times higher than those without the condition.
- Heart disease and stroke cost the U.S. health care system $254 billion per year and cause $168 billion in lost productivity on the job.
- Obesity, which places people at higher risk of chronic conditions, costs the U.S. health care system nearly $173 billion a year.
By targeting benefits outreach to employees managing chronic conditions, or those of high- or unknown-risk for chronic conditions, you can support employees in managing conditions or risk factors to avoid further complications and high-cost health events.
How to Find High-Risk Patients
So how do you identify high-risk patients to help them with chronic condition management or prevention? Many employers encourage their workers to complete a biometric screening in exchange for a discount on health insurance or some other incentive. A biometric screening provides insight into an individual’s blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood glucose and body mass index.
Benefits leaders can also partner with vendors that analyze claims data to curate lists of employees. For example, claims data can indicate those with a condition or patterns of diagnosis, treatment or medication use that classify one as high-risk.
High-Risk Patient Engagement Ideas
Once you identify the employees you want to engage, it’s time to decide how to engage them. Ideas include:
Incentives: Rewards work. Incentivize certain actions, such as meeting with the health center’s primary care provider, participating in group wellness activities or wearing an activity tracker and logging your steps. Some employers offer gift cards, extra PTO or company swag.
Group programming: Taking steps toward better health may seem daunting as an individual. Facilitate support groups or buddy systems connecting employees with similar health challenges to create a sense of community and shared accountability in managing their conditions.
Educational outreach: Provide targeted health education materials, workshops or webinars specific to their conditions. For example, consider diabetes management classes, heart-healthy cooking demonstrations or stress reduction seminars tailored to their specific risk factors.
Financial support: Reduce barriers to care by offering lower copays for preventive services, covering the cost of wellness programs, providing health savings account contributions or offering free or low-cost access to an onsite or nearsite primary care health center.
Workplace accommodations: Create a supportive work environment with onsite health screenings, healthy food options or flexible scheduling to accommodate medical appointments and treatment needs.
Engaging employees isn’t enough. They must have an exceptional experience with your health care offerings to continue their efforts. Ensure health care partners offer empathetic health coaching, care coordination and a high NPS score. Excellent care creates advocates who can offer the best engagement strategy of all — word-of-mouth referrals.
