Agent Interview: Steve Mack Explains Rewards Programs

In the 15 years Steve Mack has been in the insurance business, he’s learned a lot about placing both group and individual business. Steve recently talked to us about an innovative new reward program that appeals to both the individual and group market.

Norvax: Some health plans are rolling out products that integrate HSAs and rewards programs to engage members and reduce claims. Do you find some people are unsure how they can benefit from them?

Steve Mack: It’s amazing. If you watch some of the news shows, like Fox or CNN, they talk about all these great things that companies are doing to help employees. They’re willing to pay for your gym membership. They’re willing to do this. They give you extra days off — all kinds of different incentives. I actually have a program that gives companies that for free — it’s built into the health insurance — and yet you have some that think it’s quirky or they don’t understand it.

And then you’ve got some individuals that say, “As long as I take my high blood pressure medicine, I’m okay.” They don’t realize that those co-pays that they’re paying for those drugs, if you just extrapolate them out over the next 25 years, how much money they actually have paid out. They just don’t see the costs. Everybody’s hung up into a co-pay mentality.

Norvax: A person you actually placed in a health plan with a rewards program like that was your brother. Can you tell me about that?

SM: Yes. My brother needed some health insurance. He was on a plan at the time and I said, “Hey, why don’t you give the Destiny Health Empowerment Plan a shot?  I have other clients on that who are very happy with it.” We put him and his youngest son on the plan, and it has worked out very well.

My brother’s in good health — takes no medication. The plan is integrated with an HSA, so year after year he builds money in his health savings account. His son gets the routine checkups, which is another nice thing. Destiny Health doesn’t put any limitations on the preventative care, where a lot of plans will only go up to $200.00, or will only cover until age one through three or four, and then after that, nothing until you’re 18 again.

There are no co-pays, and for somebody that’s healthy and wants to see a return on their money, or wants to see something back from just throwing out money to an insurance company, the product worked very well for him. That was the Vitality program.

Norvax: Can you describe Destiny Health’s wellness program, Vitality, and why it’s appealing to some people?

SM: They help pay for gym memberships. They pay additional interest on your money in a health savings account. I think it’s somewhere around 3%, but as you go up in levels, you can pick up more interest on your money, all the way up to 10%, which you can’t even get in a money market. They have a bonus program for the employee or for the individual. If they Bronze to Platinum Vitality Status level or from Bronze to Silver, you get a bonus.

I took the Platinum Challenge myself, and I dropped twenty pounds. I feel better.  My back doesn’t hurt. I’ve got other employers who’ve had people on it that are engaged in Vitality and really like it.

Norvax: It sounds like they’re integrating a lifestyle aspect into it. You’re not just buying a product.

SM: Right, and most of companies are out there looking for something to help their people, and obviously if I’ve got a healthier workforce, if I have a healthy individual, [there will be] fewer claims. My rates stay low. That’s a big incentive for the employer if they get your people to go from Bronze to Silver Status, they can knock 10% off of their renewal. It doesn’t come easy, but like I said, it’s amazing, because you see other companies trying all kinds of different things to get their people to be healthier, but yet there’s no incentive for them to do it. This is like the carrot.

Norvax: Destiny Health’s Vitality program for individuals is pretty new. Do you see yourself selling a lot of it this year?

SM: It’s been very easy to market. The pricing is good. The product’s easy to understand. Many people like Vitality because of the different rewards they get out of it, whether it’s vacation packages, gym membership discounts, iPods or even a TV. We’re looking to push more and more of it into the market.

Learn more about Destiny Health’s Vitality program at www.destinyhealth.com or call Ken Sloan at 312.224.7239 for information.