Don’t Let Unfounded Fear and Lack of Understanding Hold Employees Back From Participating in HRAs

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Webmaster in Benefits Education, Employee Communications, From our Newsletter, Healthcare Refrom

When employers were faced with rising health care costs, the obvious initial choice was to attempt getting the costs under control. However, as costs have continued to rise and actions like plan redesigns and cost shifting haven’t yielded the desired results, many employers have since shifted their focus to how they could better engage their employees to actively manage their own health.

Some experts believe that health risk appraisals, or HRAs, are one of the best first steps employers can take to engage their employees in their own health management. An HRA is a simple tool that gathers information about various aspects of an employee’s health, such as weight and body mass index, lifestyle choices, exercise habits, and personal and familial medical histories. The information is generally gathered from an online questionnaire that’s provided by either the company’s insurer or wellness program provider. The HRA is often accompanied by blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol screenings. After the HRA information is gathered, it will provide feedback to the employee on their health status, suggestions on how to make improvements, and any appropriate follow-up medical care and interventions. For example, the HRA may specifically recommend an employee enter a disease management program or see a nutritionist.

Even though HRAs are a very logical method to get employees more involved in their own health management, many employees choose not to participate. Sometimes this participation reluctance stems from employees being unsure how the information they provide will be used and what their employer’s motives are in offering the HRA to them. For example, an employee might be concerned that the information they’d share on the HRA wouldn’t be kept confidential. Employees are also commonly concerned that their answers could result in them paying higher insurance premiums. Of course, such fears aren’t the reality of HRAs.

To address employee fears, employers need to ensure that their employees fully understand that the HRA information they provide will be protected under their HIPAA privacy rights; the HRA information will be for their own use and benefit, not for their insurer or employer; and that their health information will be protected from disclosure.

In addition to addressing employee privacy concerns, employers need to effectively communicate what the employee will get from participating in the HRA. To do this, HRA communications to employees should include the following key points:

* Knowledge is one of the best tools you can arm yourself with to stay healthy, and you will gather important information about your health by completing an HRA.

* What you gather from participating in an HRA can give you an early warning about any health issues you’re in the early stages of or are prone to developing. Knowing this can help you get the disease management, preventive care, or screenings you need.

* By staying healthier, you can usually lower your health care costs over the long run. Generally, treating a health issue at the early stages will both cost less and afford you more treatment options.

Offering incentives for their participation can provide employees with some additional encouragement to complete an HRA. In fact, a recent Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health survey found that over half of those participating offered their employees some sort of financial incentive if they completed an HRA. Only 12% of the respondents didn’t offer any incentive. The survey also found that incentives in the form of deductible or premium credits were most effective, as 67% of the respondents offering deductible credits and 73% of those offering premium credits reported that more than half of their employees participated in an HRA.

An HRA is a practical first step to take in engaging employees on their health management, and it can even serve as an entrance for other wellness programs. Do keep in mind that the employee and employer alike benefit when the employee maintains better health and lowers their health care expenses.