Healthy Directions and Wellness Pays! Incentive Program Frequently Asked Questions

Transcription

1 Healthy Directions and Wellness Pays! Incentive Program Frequently Asked Questions Contents: I. General Overview II. III. IV. Eligibility Privacy Accessing the Healthy Directions Website V. Wellness Pays! Incentive Program VI. VII. VIII. IX. Wellness Pays! Health Incentive Dollars Metabolic Screenings Healthy Factors Erroneous and/or Fraudulent Incentive Dollars X. Feedback

2 I. GENERAL OVERVIEW Q. What is the Healthy Directions and Wellness Pays! incentive program? A. The Healthy Directions Health Improvement and Wellness Pays! Incentive Program, provided by Barnes Group and supported by Aetna, is designed to engage eligible employees in taking a more active role in managing their health and supporting them in making positive health changes as they work to reach personal health and wellness goals. It accomplishes this by providing tailored recommendations of programs and activities based on each employee s current health status and health goals, while offering employees the opportunity to earn incentives which can help lower their medical premiums. Eligible employees can earn up to $400 incentive dollars* to reduce their medical plan contributions. *See eligibility section for incentive program rules. Q. Who is Aetna? A. Aetna is Barnes insurance provider and health improvement company. Their best-in-class health care, consumer engagement and technology resources will help you take a more active role in managing your health. Their unique program will empower you with the knowledge, tools and practical steps to help you get, or stay, healthy. Q. Why is Barnes Group offering this program? A. Your health and wellness are important to Barnes. These programs are being enhanced to encourage our employees to take a positive, and rewarding, step towards living a more healthy and active lifestyle. Q. Why should I participate? What s the benefit to me? A. In addition to getting healthier, eligible employees can also earn incentive dollars to reduce medical plan contributions. Q. How do I get started? A. The path to better health begins at where you can learn about Wellness Pays! incentives, programs and challenges. If you haven t already done so, take a look around and explore all that your benefits have to offer. Q. Is participation mandatory? A. No. While participation is highly encouraged, it is completely voluntary. However, please consult your physician before participating. Q. Are there any required activities? A. No. We ve designed the program to appeal to all levels of interest, wellness and readiness to change. You can pick and choose the activities that are best suited to your personal health goals. Q. What if I have a medical issue that prevents me from fully participating in the program? A. If participating in certain programs is unreasonably difficult, or not medically advisable due to a medical condition, please notify your HR Representative or a member of the Corporate Benefits team. We will work with you to develop another way to qualify for the incentive or request medical documentation to waive certain requirements, if applicable. Q. Who do I call if I have questions about the Wellness Pays! incentive program? A. Contact your HR Representative or a member of the Corporate Benefits team if you have questions. 2

3 II. ELIGIBILITY Q. Who is eligible to access the Healthy Directions website? A. Both you and your spouse or domestic partner* are eligible to access the Benefits 360 o website and take advantage of the programs if you meet the following criteria: 2015 Healthy Directions Eligibility Healthy Activity Who s Eligible? Health Risk Assessment Employees, spouses and domestic partners enrolled in a Barnes Group sponsored Aetna medical plan Metabolic Screening Employees, spouses and domestic partners enrolled in a Barnes Group sponsored Aetna medical plan Annual Preventive Care Exam Employees, spouses and domestic partners enrolled in a Barnes Well Adult; or Group sponsored Aetna medical Well Woman plan *Get Active Challenges All Employees (spouses and domestic partners not eligible) Q. Who is eligible to receive Wellness Pays! incentive dollars? A. Only employees can earn incentive dollars to reduce medical plan contributions. In addition, to receive Wellness Pays! incentive dollars, you must be a benefits-eligible employee and meet all of the following requirements at the time your dollars are earned and received: 1) You must be an active, salaried non-union hourly employee or on Company-approved leave of absence; and 2) You must be enrolled in a Barnes Group-sponsored, Aetna medical plan Q. What happens if I become eligible for the incentive mid-year? A. If you become eligible to participate in the Wellness Pays! incentive program during the year, your dollars will begin to accrue based on your participation beginning with the date of your eligibility. Dollars earned prior to eligibility will not reduce medical premiums. All other eligibility rules as described above will continue to apply. 3

4 III. PRIVACY Q. How does Aetna protect my personal information? A. At Aetna, the privacy and security of your personal information is a top priority. No one at Barnes Group will be provided with your specific personal health information, health screening results, health assessment responses or involvement in specific healthy activities. In addition, their technology embraces the highest of internet security protocols ensuring your information will not be compromised. Q. Does Aetna have to comply with HIPAA and state privacy laws? A. Yes. The information you provide is Protected Health Information and subject to all of the requirements under HIPAA and applicable state privacy laws. Q. Does Aetna share my individual Health Assessment responses or Health Screening results with Barnes Group? A. No. No one at Barnes Group will have access to your specific Health Assessment, Health Screening or other healthy activity results unless you volunteer the information. Q. What information does Aetna share with Barnes Group? A. Aetna will provide Barnes Group the dollars you earn in order to facilitate payment of the Wellness Pays! incentive program. In addition, it will provide de-identified and aggregated health reports to the Company for use in understanding the health of our population, as a whole, and to help determine appropriate health management programs to offer. Q. Why do you ask for personal information during the registration process? A. In order to ensure your privacy, Aetna wants to validate some personal data to confirm your identity and eligibility to participate in the Healthy Directions program. 4

5 IV. ACCESSING THE HEALTHY DIRECTIONS WEBSITE Q. How do I access the Healthy Directions Website? A. You can access the Healthy Directions website from the Benefits 360 o website, or directly by visiting Q. Who should I call if I am having trouble registering or have technical issues? A. Contact your HR Representative or a member of the Corporate Benefits team if you are unable to access the Healthy Directions website or register for a particular program. 5

6 V. WELLNESS PAYS! INCENTIVE PROGRAM Q. How do I earn dollars? A. You can earn dollars by completing healthy activities such as taking the health assessment, completing a health screening and engaging in specific health improvement programs. To view a comprehensive listing of all incentive opportunities, visit the Healthy Directions website. Q. How do I view my activity history? A. You can view your activity history by clicking on incentive tracking located on the home page of the Healthy Directions website. Q. How do I earn Wellness Pays! dollars? A. If eligible (as described on page 3 of this document), you can earn incentive dollars by engaging in healthy activities. The dollars you earn reduce your medical plan contributions in the following quarter. Q. What are healthy activities? A. Healthy Activities are specific programs and additional activities that support you in leading a healthy life. By participating in certain programs, you can learn more about your personal health risks and support the process of making healthier lifestyle decisions such as improving your nutritional habits, getting active, and losing weight. Please refer to your incentive opportunities in the chart below for more information Wellness Pays! Incentives Incentive Opportunity Worth Who s Eligible? Health Risk Assessment $100 Wellness Dollars Employees enrolled in a Barnes Group sponsored Metabolic Screening Annual Preventive Care Exam Well Adult; or Well Woman Get Active Challenges Up to $200 Wellness Dollars Aetna medical plan Employees enrolled in a Barnes Group sponsored Aetna medical plan $100 for completing your screening $100 bonus for being in normal range for 3 or more of the tests $100 Wellness Dollars Employees enrolled in a Barnes Group sponsored Aetna medical plan $25 Wellness Dollars for each challenge in which you participate 6 out of 8 weeks All Employees Q. Where can I view my Wellness Pays! incentives for activities I have completed? A. To view your earned dollars, simply visit the Healthy Directions home page and click on incentive tracking. 6

7 Q. How many dollars can I earn each quarter? A. There is no limit to the amount of dollars you can earn per quarter. Each dollar you earn equates to one dollar of reduced medical plan contributions, up to a maximum of $300 per year. You can earn an additional $100 dollars (for a total of $400) by participating in all four Get Active Challenges during a given calendar year. Q. Is there a minimum amount of dollars I have to earn to receive reimbursement? A. The Wellness Pays! program is a get what you earn incentive design. There is no minimum threshold to receive your health incentive. For example, if you are eligible and earn $25 in a quarter, your medical plan contributions will be reduced by a total of $25 in the following quarter. Q. How will I receive my health incentive dollars if I go on short term disability or other approved leave of absence? A. Dollars earned during approved leaves of absence will count towards your earned rewards and be reimbursed in accordance with the quarterly reimbursement schedule, as if you were actively at work, provided you are receiving a paycheck from the Company. Employees on unpaid leaves (FMLA, Military leave, or LTD and/or Workers Compensation) will be reimbursed in accordance with the quarterly reimbursement schedule via live check. Q. Can I earn dollars for being physically active? A. Yes. Our Healthy Directions program and healthy activities have been designed to encourage physical activity. We offer Company-sponsored challenges and exercise tracking tools for eligible employees. Please note that certain tracking tools and/or challenges require satisfactory completion (i.e. minimum length of use or challenge completion) in order to qualify for incentive dollars. Note: Participation in Wellness Pays does not increase medical benefits. Please refer to your Plan documents to determine which health care services are covered and to what extent. Q. Can I earn dollars for routine preventive care? A. Yes. Preventive care is fundamental to one s good health and for identifying health risks, early on. For this reason, employees can earn Wellness Pays! dollars for completion of Well Adult and Well Woman exams. Subject to American Medical Association guidelines for frequency limitations. Certain age and/or gender restrictions may apply. Q. What are the deadlines for the end of the quarter? A. The deadline to earn incentives will be the end of each quarter (March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31). If you earn incentives after the deadline (the end of each quarter) those dollars will be applied as a health incentive credit in the following quarter. Participation Deadline January 1 st March 31 st April 1 st June 30 th July 1 st September 30 th October 1 st December 31 st Reimbursement Window* April 1 st July 1 st October 1 st January 1 st *Or as soon as administratively possible. 7

8 Q. I believe I completed healthy activities to earn incentive dollars, but I do not see it reflected in my paycheck? A. Incentive dollars will appear as an earnings line item on your paycheck. There are a number of reasons that your health incentive may not appear on your pay stub, for example: you have missed the quarterly deadline or it may be too soon in the quarter for it to appear (it may take 1-2 pay cycles for incentives to appear). 8

9 VI. WELLNESS PAYS! HEALTH INCENTIVE DOLLARS Q. When and how will I receive my health incentive dollars? A. You will receive your health incentive dollars as earnings to reduce your medical plan contribution in the quarter following participation. Health incentive dollars for eligible employees will be reflected within 1-2 pay cycles after the quarter end. Q. How does my health incentive dollars affect my taxes? A. Wellness dollars are earnings, like cash, and taxable as ordinary income. Q. If I leave Barnes Group in the middle of a quarter, will I receive my remaining health incentive dollars? A. No. You must be an active employee at the time in which the dollars are paid, in order to receive the health incentive. Q. If I change medical plans, will I receive earned incentive dollars? A. Yes, provided you remain enrolled in a Barnes Group-sponsored, Aetna medical plan. 9

10 VII. METABOLIC SCREENINGS Q. Who can participate in the metabolic screening? A. To be eligible for a free metabolic screening through Quest Labs, you must be an employee, spouse or domestic partner of an employee and be enrolled in a Barnes Group-sponsored Aetna medical plan. Each individual is only permitted one metabolic screening per calendar year. Q. What tests are performed as part of the metabolic screening incentive activity? A. A metabolic screening includes: waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose. Q. How do I obtain and submit my metabolic screening results? A. By clicking on the Metabolic Screening Scheduler on the Healthy Directions website located on Benefits 360 o. The Scheduler helps you find a Quest Laboratory near your home and book an appointment to have your testing performed, free of charge! Simply access the Scheduler link through (registration key is barnesgroup; username is first name + last name + last four of SSN) to locate and make an appointment at a Quest Diagnostics Patient Service Center or you may call the Quest at (option 1) for assistance with scheduling an appointment. Once you have completed your screening, your results will be ed directly to the address you provided as part of your registration. Additionally, you may request a paper report be sent to your home address for your recordkeeping and to share with your physician. All applicable incentive dollars, including Healthy Factor dollars, will be automatically reported to Barnes Group. You will not need to do anything in order to receive your Wellness Pays! dollars. Q. Do I need to fast prior to the health screening? A. You are encouraged to fast before your screening. Fasting is when you consume no food or drinks, with the exception of water, for a set period of time. It s important to drink plenty of water, not just because you re not eating, but because it s easier to draw blood from your veins when you re well hydrated. Quest recommends you fast for 8 hours prior to your blood collection. Be sure to take your usual medications unless told otherwise by your healthcare provider. If you re taking vitamin/mineral supplements, ask whether you should continue to take those as well. Q. What if I have a health question or need more information about fasting? A. Call Aetna s Informed Health Line at Informed Health Line gives you 24-hour, toll-free access to a team of registered nurses experienced in providing information on a variety of health topics. Q. I just had my annual physical at the end of last year. Do I need to go to Quest to have another screening? A. Yes, your metabolic screening must be completed by a Quest Diagnostics lab to be considered valid for purposes of the incentive program. Q. Am I (or my spouse) permitted to have more than one Metabolic Screening the same calendar year? A. Metabolic screenings are provided at no cost, once per calendar year, for eligible employees/spouses (please refer to eligibility requirements in questions, above). 10

11 Q. Am I required to have a metabolic screening in order to participate in the Wellness Pays! program? A. No. While completing your metabolic screening is highly encouraged to provide you with important information about your health and any health risks, it is completely voluntary. There are a variety of ways to earn dollars other than completion of this screening. Q. If I visit my doctor to complete my health screening am I obligated to pay a copay or coinsurance? A. Generally, no. There are no additional costs for participating in the incentive program. Barnes Group s medical plan designs do not require a copay or coinsurance for preventive visits (e.g. your annual physical). However, if you receive a health screening outside of Barnes Group s medical plan or as part of a medical visit which is not classified or considered preventative (as coded by the physician s office) there may be a charge related to that visit along with any associated laboratory fees performed. Members should refer to their Plan documents to determine which health care services are covered and to what extent. Q. Can I earn additional dollars for other preventive screenings? A. Yes. In addition to the Quest Labs Metabolic Screening, you can also earn dollars for other routine preventive care exams including Well Adult 1 or Well Woman exams 1. 1 Limited to one (1) per calendar year. Subject to American Medical Association guidelines for frequency limitations. Certain age and/or gender restrictions may apply. 11

12 VIII. HEALTHY FACTORS Q. I m already healthy; can I earn incentives for being healthy? A. Yes. We want to encourage and reward individuals for not only taking the initiative to get healthy, but for those who stay healthy! Based on the results submitted by your physician on your health screening form, you may be entitled to earn healthy factor dollars, if your results meet accepted criteria, as follows: Health Measures Description Males Female Waist Circumference Triglycerides HDL Cholesterol Blood Pressure Glucose Excess fat in the abdominal area is a greater risk factor for heart disease than excess fat in other parts of the body. Higher than normal triglycerides, the level of fat found in the blood can lead to hardening of arteries, which can cause a heart attack. Lower than normal HDL ( Good ) cholesterol raises your risk of heart disease. High blood pressure can lead to heart attack or failure, stroke and kidney failure. Blood sugar level of 100 or high may be an indicator of diabetes Less than or equal to 40 inches Less than 150 mg/dl Greater than or equal to 40 mg/dl Less than 130/85 mmhg Less than 100 mg/dl Less than or equal to 35 inches Less than 150 mg/dl Greater than or equal to 50 mg/dl Less than 130/85 mmhg Less than 100 mg/dl Q. What if I have a medical issue that prevents me from fully participating in the program? A. Please contact your HR Representative or a member of the Corporate Benefits team if it is unreasonably difficult due to a medical condition or is medically inadvisable for you to attempt to achieve the standards for receiving incentives under the Healthy Directions program. We will work with you to identify alternative programs which will allow you to qualify for the stated incentive. Q. Who determines the target healthy ranges? A. Quest Diagnostics and Barnes Group use nationally recognized organizations to determine the target healthy ranges. Q. I recently went to my doctor and one of my health screening results is now in the target range for the healthy factor incentives. Can I submit my updated results and earn the healthy factor dollars? A. No. Healthy Factor incentives are awarded once, based on the metabolic screening results. Thereafter, eligible employees can take their screening, annually, in which the healthy factor dollars will be determined. 12

13 IX. Erroneous and/or Fraudulent Incentives Q: What are erroneous and/or fraudulent incentives? A. Erroneous incentive are due to improper administration that when executed result in administrative error(s). Administrative error(s) include, but are not limited to, incorrect data entry, incorrect computer programming or other error(s) during data analysis. NOTE: Barnes reserves the right to audit and seek recovery of erroneous incentive dollars, without a participant s consent, as a result of an administrative error(s). A. Fraudulent incentives arise from a participant s misstatements, misrepresentations, or omissions of information and/or participation. Any participant knowingly falsifying participation in wellness activities constitutes fraud against the company; reimbursement of any cash rebates will be paid back to the company and disciplinary action may be taken up to and including termination of employment. NOTE: Barnes reserves the right to audit and request proof to substantiate dollars received at any time. 13

14 X. FEEDBACK Q. How can I provide feedback on the Healthy Directions health improvement and Wellness Pays! incentive program? A. Barnes Group uses a variety of channels to gather feedback regarding the program. We appreciate all forms of feedback including positive experiences with the program, opportunities or suggestions for improvement or testimonials of individual wellness success stories. These can be submitted on the Healthy Directions website (home page), through the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Benefits 360 website or directly to Benefits@bginc.com. 14