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Health Insurance Premium Increases and Vitality Wellness Programs

Over the next several years, all Americans will be affected by the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was signed into law in 2010. Although there are a few items in the law that benefit insured employees and their covered dependents, such as zero cost preventive care, the law has and will continue to increase health insurance premiums.

In fact, according to a recent Kaiser Foundation report, health insurance annual increases had dropped to as low as 5% in 2008 and 2009 and to a 10 year low of 3% in 2010. However, according to the same study, in 2011 health insurance average premium increases spiked up 9%. This was not the intent but is a clear consequence of the new law.

So what can any of us do to help stabilize the never ending increases in health insurance?
The real and only answer is to use it less.

So how do we all use less health insurance? We start by getting ourselves healthier.
Then we need to utilize health insurance the same way we use other insurances. Health insurance would cost much less and be more efficient if it were only used to protect us from catastrophic claims that can devastate us financially. Not as an every day insurance used to pay for our minor ailments and low cost prescriptions.

When we start getting healthier we will naturally choose catastrophic (less expensive) health plans because we will decrease the likelihood of having to take daily medications and spend less time at the doctor’s office.

The first step to become healthier is to partner with an insurance company that has a comprehensive reward based wellness program. Not just a program that tells you what you need to do and how to get there. A plan that rewards you for your smaller accomplishments along the way to your over all goal.

Humana has this type of wellness program. It’s called Vitality.

For more information about the Humana employee benefits plans and the new Vitality wellness program, please contact Heritage Companies at 816-322-6350 or visit us on the web at www.heritagekc.com .

Eliminate the burden of handling employee benefits and compliance.