Weaver promotes culture of well-being and decreases plan costs

Weaver Consultants Group is an engineering consulting company with locations and clients throughout the country. Weaver had been steadily growing their employee population and had seen years of volatile premium increases on their fully insured health care plan, even in favorable claims periods. To effectively manage their rising costs and maintain a highly valued benefits program, they decided to shift to a self-funded plan and promote a culture of well-being.

Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) recommended transitioning the company from a fully insured health plan to a self-funded program to give the company more control over their costs. During this process, Weaver empowered their employees to become better consumers of their health care with ongoing communication, education, and resources. They worked with MMA to enhance their wellness program to create a culture of well-being and drive positive lifestyle changes for employees that would result in lower costs. After transitioning to the new self-funded strategy, Weaver created a 5-year plan to shift the company’s cultural perception of wellness, determine which incentives would motivate employees, increase wellness education and incorporate additional wellness program employee participation challenges.

To achieve buy-in from their employees, Weaver sought and incorporated employee feedback throughout the process. They developed a formal wellness committee where employees from various locations and departments would meet monthly to strategize how to introduce and execute the new initiatives. In 2019, the wellness committee vetted and implemented a points-based wellness platform that would house, track, and manage their wellness challenges, education, health risk assessments, and rewards. This not only streamlined the process, it engaged Weaver’s employees across the country.

After just a year, 48% of their employee population enrolled in their new wellness program and 70% average weekly usage from participants. Analytics show significant cost savings when comparing engaged wellness participants to non-engaged members. As measurable results have been achieved, the wellness committee has continued to grow their budget each year to expand the program to include biometric screenings and other new initiatives. A trends analysis from 2016 to 2020 showed $896,756 in savings compared to the fully insured option, and they have succeeded in keeping their costs low with no cost increases over the past three years. The wellness program results were reanalyzed in 2023 and consistent improvements have been made.