Taking Advantage of a Health and Wellness Program Through Your Health Insurance

As with most people, the desire to exercise plummets with the shorter days and long, cold nights. However, as employers are noticing the slump in their employee’s moral and increases of their waistlines; many businesses have begun to work with health insurance companies to provide quality preventative care to their employees in the form of health and wellness programs. These programs are designed specifically to combat the rise in health insurance costs for companies by offering preventative care to those insured. These programs can be tailored to the needs of individual companies and provide employees with terrific guidance through monitoring their nutrition, cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight.

Preventative Care

By employees putting in a little effort in the beginning, health and wellness programs can go a long way. By stopping problems before they start, a company and individual can save thousands in health care costs by trimming their waistlines and improving their nutritional intake to avoid problems such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and depression. While these problems seem to be small issues, most wellness coaches agree that having any combination of these health conditions can lead to seriously health problems within five years, just five years!

Exams to measure your risks

Most health insurance will cover the cost for annual preventative exams such as PAP Tests, Mammograms, most immunizations, and screenings for everything from diabetes to cholesterol. These exams are designed to provide one on one time with your doctor to insure you are educated on your current health situation. By being diligent and going to each screening and test every year, you can not only be aware of improvements or drops in your health on a yearly basis, but you can catch any problems or conditions early and treat them quickly. Many have participated in the benefits of yearly tests and screening as they have caught cancer, tumors, and dangerously high cholesterol levels early enough to prevent a serious condition. Many have even been diagnosed early with diabetes between their annual doctor’s visits through their annual eye exam!

Participation in Wellness Program

In addition to these tests and screenings, many insurance companies are also offering coaching to their employees who test at high levels for body mass, cholesterol, and high blood pressure. These coaching sessions, however are not just offered to those in at-risk health but to everyone in the company that would like to reap the benefits of a healthcare professional who will guide them to healthy living and increased performance and energy in their work and family life. These coaches will often work with nutritionists and dietitians to get the at-risk employees out the red zones and back into shape through monthly phone calls or visits to check up on progress. By realizing the problem that many employees have, these wellness coaches can prevent dangerous or life-threatening illnesses that may harm them within five years.

Speaking with your employer about the possibility of participating in a wellness program is a great option for many who are at-risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes or obesity and wish to turn their lives around. Through the positive living, increased exercise and guidance on a nutritionally balanced diet, employees can start living more healthy and fulfilling lives and be in good health for years and years to come.

About the author: Lucy Markham worked as an academic and career counselor for  three years while earning her B.A. in English from the University of Florida. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Education from the University of Utah