Health and wellness is always important, but from a number of perspectives, it took on an even higher profile on the path around the Falls this week. Statewide the news had to do with Wisconsin’s decision not to use federal funds to expand BadgerCare and the fiscal impact that will have on the state.
There were arguments on both sides of the issue, but the bottom line is that taxpayers would have saved a little more than $200 million during the current two-year budget, according to the latest estimate, if the federal funds would have been accepted. Estimates for the savings during the next two-year state budget were even higher.
Health care and wellness obviously have significant fiscal impact at the state level. State resources that need to be directed to cover those costs cannot be used for other state responsibilities, such as education. There are always priorities as to where state resources will be allocated.
Health care and wellness also have significant fiscal impact at the local level. The cost of health insurance to cover health care eats a significant part of the budget. This past year, the district spent a little less than $2.25 million on health insurance, or 11.57 percent of the general fund budget. As big as those numbers are, five years ago the district’s cost was a little over $2.5 million and 13.3 percent of the budget. Over the past 20 years, the annual cost increase for health insurance premiums far outpaced the CPI.
Even so, the district has been able to manage the increase using a variety of strategies. The most obvious is to go through a bid process looking at a number of different carriers. Over the past 20 years, the district has used a number of different carriers, most recently the Wisconsin Counties Association. That has turned out to be a great business partnership for a number of reasons, including a wellness grant program, guaranteed maximum renewal rates for the following year, creative ideas for plan modifications, and great data reports about overall use.
A few years ago, employees in the district’s two collective bargaining units voluntarily agreed to pay an increased share of the premium cost. Plan designs have been changed to encourage better use of health care providers, including the use of generic drugs whenever possible.
Over the years, the efforts have paid off. According to the most recent survey, the district has the lowest premium costs of any of the 27 Northeast Wisconsin school districts making up CESA 8.
It makes sense that if you have healthy employees, there will be lower health care costs. With that end in mind, several years ago a district wellness committee was formed. The committee promotes a variety of wellness activities throughout the year. Some of these have been funded with wellness grants from Wisconsin Counties Association.
Another strategy has been to use a health risk assessment. These were started about five years ago on a voluntary basis. The goal was to collect baseline data with confidential reports to employees with recommendations for their self-improvement. The other benefit is there is a good chance serious medical conditions can be caught and treated in the early stages.
Beginning last year, the ante for taking the HRA was taken to a higher level. The HRA was not mandatory, but employees would have to pay an additional portion of the insurance premium if they chose not to take it. It wasn’t amazing that there was almost 100 percent participation.
With the start of the school year, it’s also HRA season. The first session was Saturday beginning at 6 a.m. at Oconto Falls Elementary. Almost 90 people went through the process by the time they closed the doors at 9:45 a.m. Another session is set for the Saturday, Aug. 23.
Another proactive first-time effort this year will be an on-site nurse/wellness coach a few hours every other week. This seems to be more common in many work settings as one way to deal with more routine needs that won’t require a visit to a health care provider and lost time from work.
Wellness and mental health also got a boost last week with the referendum passage. The prior votes were real downers. Students have to feel good about the care and support they received from the community with this vote. It will make for a very healthy, uplifting start to the school year.
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