Ohio University officials will decide whether to offer monetary incentives to encourage employee participation in health improvement programs within the next year.

Members of OU’s Health Benefits Committee, including representatives from Faculty Senate, have been discussing options for rewarding employees who take steps to improve their health, said Greg Fialko, director of the OU Human Resource Department’s Division of Benefits and Compensation.

“I don’t know when it will happen or even if it will happen, but it’s definitely growing in popularity,” Fialko said.

Data show that increased employee participation in health improvement programs can reduce insurance costs, improve productivity and decrease absenteeism, said Don Powell, president and CEO of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine in Michigan. For example, the average company saves $3.50 in insurance costs for every $1 they spend on incentives and health programs, he said.

OU has offered reduced-rate health improvement programs, such as smoking cessation classes, in the past, but has never offered incentives for employee participation, Fialko said.

OU employees also can buy memberships to WellWorks wellness program, which offers services, such as a fitness center and nutrition classes, for a reduced fee of $13 per month, said Heidi Anderson, education and special events coordinator for WellWorks. However, only 315 of OU’s more than 3,800 employees are WellWorks members, she said.

Data show that incentives can increase employee participation in wellness programs, Powell said, adding that cheaper individual insurance rates, cash prizes, gift certificates and T-shirts are among the most common incentives.

“The value of incentives is significant in determining how successful a program will be,” Powell said.

Ohio State University recently started an incentive program that will run through September 30 and allow employees to earn up to $125 in cash rewards.

Individual programs, such as health assessments, nutrition counseling and weight-loss programs, are given cash-reward values based on their effect on health and the effort it takes to participate, said Kim Schuette, communications manager for OSU’s Your Plan for Health. Employees submit information about the activities they have participated in via a confidential Web site, operated by an unaffiliated company, she said.

“The whole initiative is all about employees’ health and giving them the tools they need to get involved in their health,” Schuette said. “It’s all about empowering employees.”

Last year, 7,000 of the OSU’s 23,000 eligible employees filled out personal health assessments when OSU offered $50 gift certificates, Schuette said. More than 10,000 employees are expected to fill out health assessments for a $50 cash reward as part of this year’s program, she said.

OSU’s health care costs increase an average of 10 percent each year, Schuette said. Your Plan for Health aims to reduce this increase to 7 percent per year, saving an estimated $30 million during the next five years, she said.

Fialko said OU is still trying to determine whether incentives will be successful in lowering insurance costs.

“Just think about the long term,” Fialko said. “If we get every employee to quit smoking or every employee to work out, often this will trickle down to their families as well, and we will have a healthier work force, which will lower health care costs.”