How to control total wellness costs and what your state insurance commissioner can do to help

Wellness costs have continued to increase every year and it's becoming extremely difficult to find affordable health insurance anywhere. Employers are finding other alternatives when it comes to controlling total wellness costs. Here is an alternative way to control total wellness costs and what your state commissioner can do about it.

Controlling increasing health care costs
Many companies today have decided to implement their own employee wellness programs. Why you're probably asking? Well, many have realized that by increasing the total wellness among employees, they can decrease the total wellness costs in health care. Finding affordable health care today is difficult to do but employers want to be able to offer something to valuable and loyal employees.

Employee wellness programs are a great way to get employees fit, healthy, and to lower health care costs. Companies have take various roles when it comes to wellness in the workplace from educating their employees on important issues through classes, to providing onsite facilities for them to get into better shape. Depending on the needs of your company and its employees will depend on what type of program you choose to implement. The three major concerns for businesses today and the biggest reason for high premiums are fitness, obesity, and weight loss. As insurance companies see that employees are healthier they tend to decrease the amount of money a business has to pay for its employee health care. It truly is a win-win situation. So what about the state insurance commissioner?

What does a State Insurance Commissioner do?
Well, to state the obvious first, state commissioners work for the state insurance departments and act as both a consumer protection advocate as well as an insurance regulator. They have the power to enforce state insurance laws while at the same time try to create healthy environments for insurers to operate in and educate on behalf of the consumers.

The great things about State Insurance Commissioners is that they are elected by the people. They can do several different things depending on the state you live in and laws. They can approve insurance forms, receive deposits from title companies or certify deposits from the US government. They can also license insurance companies, agents, and can investigate claims and complaints made against those companies. Their main objective however is to regulate the insurance industry and act as a consumer advocate.

So how can a state commissioner help control total wellness costs?
When it comes to individual health care policies a state insurance commissioner holds little power. When it comes to group health plans however state insurance commissioners can wield a lot of power. With hundreds of companies turning to total wellness programs to keep their employees healthier and out of the doctors office and hospitals the state insurance commissioner works as an advocate for companies promoting health and wellness.

As a small business owner it is to your advantage to at least look into an employee wellness program; learning how to control total wellness costs might be easier than you think. If you still have more questions or concerns then consider going to your state insurance commissioner to see what more they can do to alleviate the burden.

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Categories: Health Care Costs,

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