Health Insurance: Healthy Employees Unfairly Burdened

SAN DIEGO, May 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Affordable Care Act requires healthy employees to pay the same insurance premiums as their unhealthy coworkers, even though they account for a significantly lower proportion of their employer's health care spend. Many perceive this imbalance as a ripoff.  A new video report from behavioral expert SelfHelpWorks shows employers how to effectively engage unhealthy employees and get them back on track.

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The Health Insurance Problem

Health insurance costs have skyrocketed in recent years, reaching an average of $6,251 for single coverage in 2015 according to a Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET employer survey. Many employees feel the high insurance rates are a ripoff. The biggest cost driver is chronic disease, which accounts for 86% of the nation's health care costs according to the CDC. As chronic disease creeps up in an organization its health care costs are driven upwards, resulting in higher premiums and fewer benefits for everyone.

Ironically, most chronic disease can be prevented or reduced by simply making healthier lifestyle choices. Yet the Affordable Care Act essentially requires employees of the same age and gender to pay the same rates regardless of health status. This effectively penalizes employees who work at staying healthy, causing them to view their health insurance as a ripoff.

Help For Those Who Need It Most

In response, employers have implemented corporate wellness programs in an effort to help employees adopt healthier behaviors. However results are generally poor when it comes to creating sustained behavior change among those who need it most. While these people want to break free of unhealthy habits like junk food, tobacco or excess alcohol, the vast majority simply find it impossible to do so for any length of time.

"The problem is that the issue is not being tackled correctly," said Lou Ryan, founder and CEO of behavior change firm SelfHelpWorks. "Behavior begins in the mind, not the body. Unless you change the way a person thinks deep down at a core level, the unhealthy behaviors will keep coming back. That's why we made this video report – to show employers how to effectively help employees eliminate unhealthy behaviors.  This information is critical for employers to improve employee health and productivity – we hope they take advantage of it."

To view the 3-minute video report: www.selfhelpworks.com (scroll to the bottom).

Media Contact:
Bryan Noar, VP Marketing & General Manager
SelfHelpWorks
2970 5th Avenue, Suite 320
San Diego CA, 92103
619-296-6001 X 248 
http://www.selfhelpworks.com

SOURCE SelfHelpWorks, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.selfhelpworks.com