Helping Team Members Control Healthcare Spending by Controlling Health ■
By Andrea Pelletier
We all want to enjoy life and spend our dollars wisely. How we live our lives can reduce the money we spend on healthcare and allow us to have a higher quality of life. Retirement arrives faster than you think – we want our team members to go into it healthy! We all can make changes now that will contribute to a healthier, richer future. Reaching a healthy weight Even a 10% weight loss will reduce blood pressure, cholesterol levels, glucose levels and decreases your risk of diabetes by 58%. Significantly overweight adults pay 42% higher healthcare expenses than adults with a healthy weight. Getting more exercise Getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week can put you at a lower risk for heart disease and stroke. More than three-quarters of healthcare costs in America are due to chronic diseases like heart disease. Dealing with stress When team members feel overwhelmed and try to balance the challenges of work and life, Cianbro’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can help. Free, convenient, confidential information and/or referrals are available. After all, healthcare expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress. Pursuing wellness exams, screenings and tests Under Cianbro’s medical plans, preventive care is covered at 100%. Team members and their covered dependents pay nothing! Quitting tobacco use Cianbro provides free nicotine patches to team members and their spouses who are serious about quitting. Studies show that people who smoke incur an average of $16,000 more in lifetime medical expenses than nonsmokers. Cianbro also offers team members the benefit of a personal coach to guide them toward improved health through the Healthy LifeStyle Program. By being healthy and preventing disease, we can avoid the need for expensive sick care…keeping more money in our pockets! Team Member Tom Smith, Survey Engineer The greatest benefit I’ve experienced with the Healthy LifeStyle Program is the help I received when I made the decision to quit smoking cigarettes. The health coaches helped me get patches and suggested ways to deal with the physical and mental cravings. After five years smoke free, I can honestly say that I am rid of the habit for good.
Tom Smith
Team Member Saulio Saleta, Project Engineer The Healthy LifeStyle Program has been of great help in motivating me to stay fit and eat healthy. By being in the program, I feel that I am better informed about the good health habits that I should follow. I think that the program is an excellent form of education for my health as well as that of my family. Team Member Brenda Nichols, Senior Design Engineer The Healthy Living Reward (earned through the Healthy LifeStyle Program) was one of my motivations for starting to lose weight. I actually look forward to meeting with my health coach, and I think it’s great that Cianbro sees the connection between healthy employees and a healthy company. CIANBRO
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