How Sutton Bank Moved from Reactive to Proactive Healthcare

The high cost of employee healthcare—plus employees focused only on getting care when they were sick—had leaders at Sutton Bank worried about their future budget. But with a few plan changes and the right motivation, Sutton Bank is now one of the Healthiest Companies in America.

Initial concernsLeaders at Sutton Bank wanted to start saving on employee healthcare costs. To do this, they were considering a self-funded High Deductible Health Plan, or HDHP. But they weren’t sure how this would go over with the employee population. Leaders were concerned this type of plan wouldn’t be successful unless employees were engaged as smart consumers in their own health and wellness.

Proactive vs. reactive careSutton Bank employees were older on average—with 73 percent at 45-plus years of age. Overall, these employees had a very traditional and reactive concept of healthcare benefits—i.e., they were accustomed to using their benefits for care when they got sick. The idea of using benefits proactively to prevent sickness was a novel concept. Leaders knew it would take a paradigm shift for a new HDHP and wellness program to be accepted by employees.

The plan—year oneSince Sutton Bank employees were new to wellness, leaders wanted to be sure efforts to roll out a wellness program didn’t fade into the background. To ease employees into a more proactive mindset and encourage participation in a new wellness program, Sutton Bank started out slowly—their first-year wellness offering was a Healthy Merits Wellness program from Meritain Health that simply featured wellness challenges. To boost participation, targeted email communications helped leaders create a buzz among employees and pique interest.

Leaders needed a way to link wellness to the new HDHP with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), an important component of their HDHP. To do this, they also offered credits for wellness challenge participation that allowed employees to earn funds for their HSAs. Employees were receptive to this valuable way to help them pay for healthcare expenses.

About Interactive Health’s Healthiest Companies in America

Each year, wellness company Interactive Health (IH) reviews the progress of its clients for successful outcomes.

IH’s Healthiest Companies in America have the following in common:

>70% wellness program participation rate At least 40% of high-risk members reduced

risk At least 45% of moderate-risk members

reduced risk Low health risks across employee

population In 2017, just 156 companies across the

country and throughout a variety of industries were awarded this honor.

The plan—years two and beyondAfter a successful first year, leaders added healthcare premium discounts to the Sutton Bank wellness program. Employees could pay less for their premiums if they completed a biometric wellness screening and online health assessment provided by vendor Interactive Health.

Over the first two years, employee acceptance and excitement over the wellness program has encouraged Sutton Bank to expand to a Healthy Merits program that includes the following:

Health assessments—offered online, to help employees understand their current health.

Company-sponsored wellness challenges—offered 2–4 times throughout the year. Topics include lowering cholesterol, quitting tobacco, financial wellness, healthy eating and walking for fitness.

Biometric wellness screening—including an on-site blood draw gives employees a foundation from which to make healthy changes.

HealthFocus courses—eight-week wellness courses employees complete by phone working with a qualified health coach.

Digital active lifestyle coaching—online programs employees can take to learn more about health and wellness.

Annual well visit—covered at 100 percent under the health plan.

Tobacco cessation—with access to both online and call-in programs for support.

Making it workWith the wellness program in place, Sutton Bank needed a way to get, and keep, employees on board. They currently use all of the following techniques:

Frequent communication—regular contact by email helps the wellness program coordinator reach employees across multiple sites. Communications include reminders of upcoming wellness events, tips for how to use the online portal, and encouragement to participate.

Comprehensive annual wellness fair—each year, Sutton Bank offers an open enrollment and wellness fair event that helps employees learn about their healthcare benefits and get excited about wellness. Features include a presentation by their Healthy Merits population health management consultant, financial resources, vision and hearing checks, the annual on-site biometric blood draw, massages, nutrition counseling and much more.

Easy program participation—employees only have to complete two wellness activities to earn premium credits: the on-site biometric screening and health assessment.

Multiple wellness options—to earn credits towards HSA contributions, employees have a wide variety of options they can complete, including gym attendance, weight management program membership, tobacco cessation, sanctioned walks and races, employer- offered wellness challenges, and more.

Online tools—the Healthy Merits portal provides easy and convenient access to wellness resources, including the health assessment and digital health coaching program.

Leadership buy-in—by joining wellness activities, Sutton Bank leaders “eat their own cooking” and set a good example for employees to participate.

Successful results Sutton Bank’s employee population has fully embraced the wellness program, with a 95 percent participation rate. This has lead to health improvements among employees in factors that decrease the risk of heart disease. Wellness program participants have improved their Interactive Health Personal Health Scores—given to them after their biometric screening—beyond those of national benchmarks. As a result, Sutton Bank has been recognized by Interactive Health as one of the Healthiest Companies in America.

“Personally, the most diffi cult challenge for me is my LDL cholesterol level. Prior to par cipa ng in our wellness program, my LDL level was approaching 300. By use of the “ea ng well” challenges and logging what I eat, I have been able to reduce this level to 210. I will con nue to par cipate in the Healthy Merits program for further improvements. I have highly recommended our wellness program to my colleagues here at Su on Bank.”

- Su on Bank employee

Regressed Improved

Blood pressure

LDL cholesterol

Blood glucose

Triglycerides

“Prior to partnering with Meritain Health, our organiza on never had a wellness program. Introducing the plan and communica ng how to be an ac ve par cipant in overall well-being was new for everyone. I found our employees quickly became interested and enjoyed the quarterly challenges. Employees began to seek out addi onal ac vi es they could do on their own. Tracking devices soon became very popular. The success of our wellness program would not be what it is if not for the strong partnership with Healthy Merits personnel.”

- Dollie Schultz, HR Manager

Participation in wellness program Health improvements among wellness participants

100%

50% 50%

27.3% 72.2%

30.8% 69.2%

95%

5% Participating employees

Non-participating employees

Interactive Health average personal health scores

2017 2018Su on Bank -4.3 -5.2Benchmark 3.2 3.5

The Personal Health Score (PHS) is designed to help members be er understand their overall health risks. This index is composed of fi ve modifi able risk factors: blood glucose /A1c, blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and tobacco use. It ranges from -20 (healthiest) to 20 (unhealthiest).

Personal health score risk levels

Level of health riskPercentage of par cipants

Na onal benchmark2017 2018

Low 72.2% 82.7% 67.5%

Moderate 16.5% 10.7% 15.9%

High 11.4% 6.7% 16.5%

Ready to begin your success story?Becoming a healthy company requires commitment, knowledge and experience. That’s why Meritain Health is your Advocate for Healthier Living. We work with companies and organiza ons every day to understand your unique popula on health needs and what’s driving up plan costs. We help our clients build effi cient health plan strategies, including wellness programs, to improve employee health. Plus, we off er easy-to-use healthcare and ancillary benefi ts your employees can use to lead healthy, produc ve lives.

To learn more, just contact your Meritain Health representa ve or Healthy Merits popula on health management consultant.

This material is for informa on only and is not an off er or invita on to contract. Health benefi ts and health insurance plans contain exclusions and limita ons; see your plan documents for complete descrip on of benefi ts, exclusions, limita ons and condi ons of coverage. Plan features and availability may vary and are subject to change.

The reference to previous outcomes made as a part of this communica on does not guarantee success in any new or future case(s), as the result of each case depends upon many factors, including the facts of each case.

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