CHICAGO, IL (May 13, 2019) – Enrollees in the Bethany Benefit Service health insurance plan can earn $200 through a new wellness initiative intended to spur participants to seek preventative care and make lifestyle changes.
“Nearly 30 percent of Covenanters enrolled in the insurance did not visit a physician for preventative care last year, and more than 15 percent of enrollees are pre-diabetic,” said Christina Kempe, benefits coordinator.
“Though these statistics are more positive than many of our denominational peers, we want to help ECC ministers and staff improve their health so that they can more effectively serve in their calls to ministry,” Kempe said.
The plan is available to ECC church, camp, and conference staff working at least twenty hours per week.
Sharecare, an online health assessment and support company, will administer key parts of the wellness incentive program. Participants will receive personalized guidance to help them live a healthier lifestyle through eating right, exercising, getting the right amount of sleep, and reducing stress, Kempe said.
Participants earn points through activities that include a variety of health screenings as well as health coaching provided by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and using the ShareCare app or website.
Available preventative activities – each of which earn half the points needed – include screenings for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer as well as a diabetic annual eye exam and Diabetic HbA1c test. Other activities include taking an online “real age” and achieving 60 “green days.”
Spouses covered by BBS health insurance also are eligible. Participants can register at mycare.sharecare.com.
Kempe noted that enrollees pay no copay for preventative care.
Kempe said the wellness incentive is part of Bethany Benefits’ efforts to promote preventative care. Information is posted online about other programs. https://covchurch.org/bbs/insurance/benefits-offered/wellness-programs/
For more information, email bethany@covchurch.org
Contact: Erin Chan Ding, News Editor, The Evangelical Covenant Church, stan.friedman@covchurch.org
