City of Oak Creek
Common Council Report

Meeting Date: March 18, 2003

Item No.:   

Recommendation:  That the Council accept the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to create the 6-month pilot Health Nut Rewards Program, with an incentive cap of $15,000, as presented by the Wellness Team.

Background:  In late 2001, a Wellness Team was formed, comprised of employees and employee spouses and retirees.  The team has since been meeting regularly with the objective to encourage self-funded health insurance participants to be wise consumers of their health care benefits, provide education and promote healthy lifestyles, and ultimately reduce the City's health insurance costs.  Health screenings and several educational programs were held in 2002 to promote healthy behaviors (exercise, nutrition, stress reduction, dealing with depression, weight loss, ergonomics, and men's health).  As a consultant to our program, Barb Feiertag of Aurora suggested we consider the Aurora Smart Rewards Program, an incentive based program designed to encourage healthy behavior.  As indicated in the Smart Reward presentation to the Wellness Team, generally the participation rates in wellness programs with no incentive is 10-15%, which was in line with what we had experienced in 2002.  A wellness program with rewards is expected to have a 55% participation level.  It was also explained that for every dollar spent on wellness, the employer could expect $5 savings from health care, sick leave, worker's compensation and disability.

The Wellness Team presented the Personnel Committee with a draft 6-month pilot program.  The expected cost for rewards alone was $12,050.  This would not include the staff time necessary to coordinate the program or consultant fees for health screenings and conducting educational sessions.

Fiscal Impact:  The 2003 budget includes $80,000 for Wellness activities, including the Fire Department's wellness/fitness program.