Kennesaw to city employees: Be healthy or pay more

Kennesaw employees with health risk factors can avoid a proposed insurance surcharge if they take part in a city-sponsored wellness program.

Mayor-Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed policy Monday at the 6:30 p.m. city council meeting. The policy targets known tobacco users, overweight employees and others identified by the company’s wellness consultant as having high risk health issues, Mayor Mark Mathews said.

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“It’s just a good incentive to help the members and owners of the plan to save money,” he said.

If Mayor-Council passes the recommendation by the benefits committee, which is composed of city employees, smokers who choose not to participate in the city’s wellness program will pay an additional $25 per pay period. High risk employees not participating in the program will pay an additional $50 per pay period. The city’s 233 employees are paid every two weeks, and 125 are attending wellness programs offered by the city.

Kennesaw dropped traditional health insurance coverage about four years ago. It went with a self-funded model in which premiums go toward paying claims and establishing a catastrophic health care fund from which large expenses are paid.

At the time, the city created a wellness program designed to help lower claims, Mathews said.The city’s insurance program is underwritten by LifeWell. The underwriter recommended Community Health Network to administer the wellness program Kennesaw instituted in June 2006.

Twice a year, employees undergo a health screening to determine their risk factors, said Miranda Jones, assistant to the city manager. Members of Mayor-Council who are covered by the city’s insurance program participate, too.

A range of risk factors is assessed such as chronic illnesses, smoking, cholesterol levels, weight, driving over the speed limit, using a seat belt and a family health history. After risk factors are assessed, every employee meets individually with a counselor to discuss the results, which are confidential.

At-risk employees then are encouraged to participate in smoking cessation or weight management classes instituted in January or to meet one-on-one with a coach once a week to work on their risk factors, Jones said. All sessions are paid for by the insurance program and are conducted on city time.

The insurance premium surcharge was recommended by the benefits committee as an incentive, she said. “The non-compliance comes from if you are determined to be a high risk employee,” Jones said. It kicks in, she said, “if they make no effort to do anything about it, whatever their risk factor is that puts them in danger.”

A report on an at-risk employees participation in the wellness program will be provided the benefits committee which then can determine the surcharge non-compliant employees must pay, she explained.

The state of Georgia imposes a monthly $40 surcharge on insured smokers, and other cities are moving to Kennesaw’s model.