Fit by bit; activity trackers cut city’s healthcare costs

Don Foerster is concerned about people moving.

Movement is exercise and for Foerster, the City of Huntingburg’s safety director, exercise is good for the city’s health insurance budget.

And to get more city employees moving, Foerster has innovated a new program involving Fitbit Activity Trackers.

Fitbits are special bands worn on the wrist that prompt users to be more active by tracking several healthy habits. At a basic level, the Fitbit counts steps and encourages users to meet certain stepping goals. The bands also track individuals’ heart rates, water and food consumption, and will even log how restful, or restless, their sleep was the night before. Through a smartphone app, the bands can also alert a wearer if they have a phone call or text.

“There are a lot of good situations we can implement with Fitbits in our wellness program,” Foerster said. “Maybe at the end of the day they are 2000 steps from their 10,000 and because the band reminds them of that, they make the effort to meet that goal.”

For now, he has quarterly goals worked out for each participant in the program but he hopes if it spreads to all the city employees, he can add department competitions for achieving the most steps or consistently meeting hydration requirements.

Rachel Steckler, the city’s communication and community engagement director, has one of the Fitbits. According to Steckler, after receiving her Fitbit and tracking her activity, she was inspired to hit the daily 10,000 step goal. So inspired that one night when she was about to watch one of her favorite television shows, the Fitbit reminded her of how close she was to her goal. To make sure she got the final couple thousand steps done, she began walking around in her living room while watching her show.

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Foerster wants employees to have ownership in the new bands so he is charging them $100 to get one. It is a reduced cost in comparison to the retail cost; Foerster is paying about $125 for a model that normally costs $149 and after employees pay their $100, he is out about $25 per band.

However, since the long-term benefits and lower costs associated with healthy employees outweigh the cost for the band, he has made it easy for employees taking advantage of the device’s functions by allowing them to earn up to $100 in credits for their insurance plans. Employees can earn the credits in $25 increments awarded quarterly based on them hitting certain performance goals recorded on the Fitbit.

“I figure by the time they use it for a year it will be part of a healthier lifestyle,” Foerster explained.

By getting employees healthier, Foerster had seen rates drop for health insurance. “In 2014, our monthly COBRA cost for a single person was $517; this year it’s $488,” he said.

The city has to budget a certain amount of money for employee healthcare costs annually. This amount is estimated by the city’s insurance carrier and according to Foerster, he has to budget for that estimated amount. However, he can save money on those costs by working proactively to increase the health and wellness of the city employees effectively cutting the use of insurance for health concerns and medication. The money that doesn’t get spent on healthcare costs goes into the Huntingburg Benefit Trust; a savings account Foerster uses to create health programs to further drive down the estimates from the insurance carrier.

In 2016, Foerster is expecting to save $40,000. “I can lower my premiums and the cost to the departments goes down next year,” he added.

The drop is due to a plethora of programs the city has undertaken to make its employees healthier and more aware of lifestyle choices that impact their health. “It’s very proactive,” Foerster said. “We have to get more people involved in taking better care of themselves.”

With the Fitbits, Foerster hopes employees will continue to embrace a healthier lifestyle that involves more movement and exercise.

“All of the city employees are family members to me,” Foerster said. “And I want them to take care of themselves. I tell them the same thing I would tell my kids or my family to take care of themselves or reduce their health costs.”

According to Foerster, nearly 30 of the city’s 75 eligible employees are currently taking advantage of the program.