Rx for rising health care costs: An employee wellness program being tested at two electric co-ops shows promise for curbing co-op health-care expenses

摘要

Between 1993 and 2006, the amount of money spent annually on health care in America rocketed from 912 billion dollar to 2.6 trillion dollar. That works out to 7,026 per person dollar and now accounts for 16 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.Electric co-ops have experienced a similar escalation in recent decades. The average annual cost of health insurance per co-op employee stood at about 400 dollar in 1973. Today, the figure has mushroomed to 11,500 dollar. In an attempt to contain the health-care cost explosion, two electric co-ops—Sierra Southwest Cooperative Services, an energy products and services provider in Benson, Ariz., and United Cooperative Services, a 73,000-meter distribution co-op based in Cleburne, Texas—are taking part in a three-year Worksite Wellness Program piloted by NRECA. While the initiative has just entered its second year, early results are impressive.