Plainfield community consolidated school district 202 improves employee health and safety while reducing insurance costs

MMA and Plainfield 202 developed a robust wellness program and implemented a Health Savings Account (HSA) option into its overall benefits strategy. The lower premiums prevent employees from paying for coverage they rarely use, as is often the case with PPOs. Higher deductible limits and a focus on wellness and prevention also help employees become engaged healthcare consumers. The school district made HSA the sole option for any new hires.

In addition, Plainfield 202 put more emphasis on biometric screenings to gain a better understanding of claim trends and the impact of its wellness initiatives. Employees were given access to health consultants who reviewed results and discussed a personalized plan of action to improve outcomes. A new committee and formalized wellness brand were rolled out to employees. The wellness committee implemented fitness challenges, educational seminars and free flu shot clinics to spur engagement throughout the year. Program participation soared from 8% to 10%.

After Plainfield 202 saw quantifiable results from their transformed benefits strategy, risk management soon became a strong focus. Their previous broker was only providing data instead of solutions to increasing workers’ compensation costs. MMA’s risk management team began advising at multiple meetings where
they focused on key loss drivers including the custodian and maintenance department, and open claims. The MMA claims team closed out claims, while the safety department used the workers’ compensation loss data to devise an effective safety training program. Plainfield 202 quickly embraced safety training,
completing over 30 one-to-one group and certification sessions. Twenty-six of the trainings were custodial and maintenance staff.