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E-mail: Health Matters

Phone: 206-205-5017

Benefit Plan Design

3 Levels of Participation

Healthy IncentivesSM is an innovative benefits program that encourages employees and their covered spouse/domestic partners to take ownership of their health.  Employees and their covered family members continue to receive the same high level of medical coverage they are used to receiving, but the participation of employees and their spouse/domestic partners in Healthy IncentivesSM affects their level of out-of-pocket expenses for medical coverage in the following year.

  1. Participation begins with taking a wellness assessment (health risk assessment) that identifies behavior related health risk factors.
  2. After taking the wellness assessment, employees and their spouse/domestic partners are given the opportunity to participate in disease 10 week individual action plan. They can choose from plans that focus on weight management, nutrition, physical activity, stress management and tobacco cessation.
  3. A company independent of King County administers the wellness assessment and individual action plans to ensure the privacy of participants.

Healthy IncentivesSM has three levels of out-of-pocket expense levels (KingCare benefits at a glance) (Group Health benefits at a glance) that are determined by participation: gold (lowest level), silver (moderate level) and bronze (highest level). Employees and their spouse/domestic partners who:

  • take the wellness assessment in January earn silver
  • take the wellness assessment in January and complete an individual action plan by June 30 earn gold
  • who take only the wellness assessment by June 30 earn silver
  • do nothing, earn bronze.

Each year, employees and their spouse/domestic partners have the opportunity to take the wellness assessment and complete an individual action plan to receive the lowest out-of-pocket expense level for the following year.

The higher the participation in the Healthy IncentivesSM program, the more likely employees and their spouse/domestic partners will make healthy lifestyle choices and prevent chronic medical conditions.

That translates into a longer, better quality of life for employees and their spouses/domestic partners and reduced medical costs for King County.