Falcon Plastics is a South Dakota based manufacturer that employees 260 individuals across three South Dakota workplaces and a fourth in Tennessee. In 2011 their team took on an initiative to increase their member preventive exam rates as part of their continuing pursuit to positively influence the health and wellness of their employees and family members as well as control organizational costs.
This strategy included the development of a “Preferred Member Discount.” If a group health plan member completed all the program requirements, they would be eligible for a discount of their premiums of up to 17%. This discount was offered to their members at a time when rates were significantly increasing. The preventive exam participation rate prior to this preferred member discount was 39% for employees and 31% for spouses. The goal was to increase their employee member participation to 50%. They had an astonishing increase participation rate of 72% for employee members and although not the focus of this initiative, spouses also increased their participation to 54%. Reflectively, while members were completing their preventive exams, there wasn’t much emphasis on selecting the right physician.
To improve upon this, in 2012, one of Falcon’s goals is to provide more tools and resources for employees to select a primary care physician (PCP) that is right for them. It is expected that this strategy will help sustain participation rates and improve the effectiveness of the annual preventive exams. This is just one element of their overall approach to health and wellness. Since 2009, collectively their strategies have reduced the number of employee members with two or more risk factors form 80% to 39%.