By Frank H. Wooldridge
Like many others in law enforcement, I just want the facts when trying to understand the effect of health insurance premium increases. So do those in other safety occupations such as the fire service and corrections. Not only must you get the facts, but you must also to learn options available to counter health insurance premium increases. Premium increases are a fact of life, but if you do nothing, you will pay them. Unfortunately, premium increases are just the beginning.
The Hidden Spike
If public employees are not proactive, they are at the mercy of those who formulate the local budget to address these increases. In some municipalities, retirees’ fixed retirement pension may be even more severely affected. These former employees are often most vulnerable if they are separated from the governmental bargaining unit and left to face health insurance premium increases alone, and may have little or no alternative for health care.
Health insurance premium increases affect the municipal budget, and employees will be the first asked to make up the difference. If we are not prepared, we can blame only ourselves and will pay in more ways than just with our pocketbook. Unless employee collective bargaining units and municipal negotiation teams come to terms during tough negotiation times, there can be a number of other potential consequences, whether a budget deficit is real or imagined. Budget shortfalls can result in fewer employees, reduced temporary help, cuts in overtime, reduced training, longer response times, and limited new capital improvements.
Poor national and state economic conditions have not done anything to brighten the outlook. The dismal real estate market and mortgage foreclosure crisis also play into this scenario, negatively affecting jobs, property tax values, and sales tax revenues. These in turn will eventually impact services and may become a major distraction during collective bargaining. Furthermore, the loss of anticipated revenue sharing from state budgets to local municipalities can substantially increase local budgetary shortfalls, which means more cuts in hiring, services, and possible layoffs. Accepting business as usual in governmental agencies is just not the most prudent course of action. Management and employee groups must come together to seek affordable and sensible solutions.
Wellness Programs
One proactive approach is the wellness program, consisting of comprehensive health, fitness, and safety initiatives. I researched California law enforcement agencies and reviewed national studies on the benefits of implementing wellness programs for law enforcement agencies. The results were clear: Wellness programs are in demand and offer promise in countering the financial stress on municipal budgets from health insurance premium cost increases for participating government and private businesses.
There are a variety of ideas about what a wellness program should look like. This article does not cover how to implement such a program nor what components would make such a program successful for your agency. Many options can be inserted into any wellness program. Managers and employees must be aware of such programs’ benefits and the broad availability of services to assist and train your agency’s management and personnel in developing a successful wellness program.
The support and commitment of your agency’s administration will determine the success its wellness program–it is a must. Supporting and encouraging employees’ participation gives the program added value and helps sustain and grow it.
Wellness Needs
In designing a proper wellness program, it is important to understand exactly what a wellness program is: the promotion of health, safety, and fitness through education and lifestyle transformation. For example, heart disease is directly related to lifestyle wellness behaviors, and has become the number-one killer of adult men and women, surpassing all types of cancer. According an August 2000 article in The Law Enforcement Trainer magazine, more than 2,000 police officers have heart attacks and die each year in the line of duty. This is shocking when you consider that approximately 100 police officers die each year at the hands of suspects. Most law enforcement training academies expend significant amounts of energy on fitness-related activities (1). Training academies normally include fitness activities such as push-ups, sit-ups, and running; these constitute only a portion of what a wellness program can be.
If this does not arouse enough concern, consider the following statistics:
1. Police officers live an average of 15 years less than the average American. (2)
2. Nearly 50% of us will die from heart disease within five years of retirement. (3)
3. Statistically, we are 25 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than from the action of a suspect. (4)
Properly managed wellness programs, of which there are relatively few, are geared mainly toward providing information and activities on health, fitness, and safety to employees.These areas provide a wide range of training material and the training should be ongoing.
One of the first steps toward transforming behavior and increasing employees’ participation in the wellness program is to increase their awareness. Initially, provide them with relevant classroom presentations, demonstrations, and participation in practical exercises. Each training session should be designed to illustrate the importance, relationship, and relevance of fitness for all personnel. Correlations between physical skills and heart rate, endurance, and strength versus defensive tactics and flexibility versus back injury prevention are critical concerns for instruction. Presentations should also emphasize wellness topics including proper nutrition, avoiding high-risk behavior related to heart disease and diabetes, substance abuse, stress, obesity, injury prevention, and smoking cessation.
Validation
The wellness program can be validated based on numerous best-practices studies by public and private organizations. The following lists major benefits of implementing a wellness program:
- Reduced health insurance premiums. Wellness programs have been shown to be the best practice and less financially painful method of reducing high health insurance premiums.
- Reduced absenteeism. Wellness programs resulting in healthier employees and fewer injuries.
- Reduced employee turnover. This category has shown substantial positive change. Employees are more likely to have an improved total outlook towards their careers and the contribution they make to the agency/community.
In addition to the benefits mentioned, wellness programs may promote the following:
- Healthy lifestyles
- Worker productivity
- High performance team-building
- Personal leadership and accountability
- Reduced worker’s compensation claims
- Injury reduction
- Employee recruitment
- Improved morale
- Improved employee physical appearance
- Improved organizational image and effectiveness
- Reduced litigation against police officers for excessive force
Measuring Success
Naturally, the agency will want to promote the wellness program by encouraging all personnel to participate in it to become more healthy and fit. Ultimately, the wellness program should result in an improved agency, with employees who are healthier, personally more secure, and better able to provide effective services. If the wellness program saves the organization money in the long run, that is an added plus.
The good news is wellness programs can be measured in several ways. With the use of control groups, comparing measurements before and after the program, and repeating measurements, employees will decide when and how often they will evaluate. Evaluation may not show conclusive proof the wellness program was what caused change, but can show evidence of change following the program.
A successful wellness program will not remain static. The program will require modification resulting from employee’s requests for additional special services and programs to address needs. This is an excellent sign of employees’ interest in and involvement in structuring the program. As employee needs are satisfied, more employees will take an interest, participate, and ultimately help reduce health insurance premiums.
1 Blum, Jon, “Physical Training for Law Enforcement … A New Approach?” The Law Enforcement
Trainer, July/August 2000, 12-48.
2 Tracy, Tom. “Fit for Duty: Demand It.” Police, March 1993, 18,
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
Frank H. Wooldridge is a detective with the Bakersfield (CA) Police Department. He is the designer of Master Wellness Program Training which provides a framework for designing wellness programs. He can be reached at his Web site, www.masterwellnesstraining.com. Wooldridge is a graduate of the California POST Master Instructor Development Program and executive vice president of the California Financial Crime Investigators Association. He is certified as a fitness trainer through the Cooper Institute, and holds a bachelor of arts in public administration from California State University-Bakersfield.