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Wellness committee says program saved Page County roughly $57,600 and requests $9,000 for next year
Summary
The county wellness committee reported saving $57,618.80 in health premiums and said it earned a 5% wellness discount for the next fiscal year. The committee asked the board to keep the wellness budget at $9,000 to continue programs and incentives.
Kim, a co-chair of Page County's Wellness Committee, told the Board that employee participation in wellness activities produced measurable insurance-premium savings and asked the supervisors to fund the committee at the same level as the prior year.
"Due to your support ... we were able to save the County $57,618.80 in health premiums in fiscal year [current year]," Kim said, and added that the committee had earned a 5% wellness discount on the county's upcoming health insurance premiums.
The committee requested the same $9,000 allocation as the prior year. Kim described planned activities and incentives that the committee says are intended to maintain participation: the ISAC-sponsored 10,000 steps-per-day challenge, county-versus-county walking challenges available on the Navigate platform, the annual blood-draw program (which the committee is considering moving to spring), an annual flu clinic and incentives tied to online wellness assessments and completion of challenges across eight “pillars” of wellness (balance, mindfulness, community, financial, nutrition, social, physical and purpose).
Committee members emphasized the program is staffed with employees and officials from multiple departments and that committee-led activities aim to encourage preventive care and healthy behaviors among county employees. One supervisor who serves on the committee praised the group’s cross-department membership and said the ideas generated in meetings have been valuable.
Why this matters: The wellness committee presented a direct budget-to-savings claim — the committee cited a specific dollar figure in avoided premiums — and outlined an ongoing set of low-cost programs it says continue to produce financial and health engagement returns.
Next steps: Supervisors indicated support for the current funding request and said they would include the $9,000 line in budget discussions.
