Incentive Federation launches campaign on the benefits of health care incentives

With national attention focused on health care, the Incentive Federation recently launched a nationwide effort to convince members of Congress that incentives can improve health care behaviors and reduce spending at the same time they enhance overall health.

"Employees need compelling reasons and immediate tangible benefits to encourage them to participate in wellness programs," said George Delta, The Federation's executive director. "In fact, recent studies have shown that employee participation in wellness programs measurably increases and costs decrease when incentives are offered."

He stressed that one of the best ways to encourage wellness incentive and recognition programs is to make them nontaxable to employees and deductible to employers. He pointed out that the health reform package currently being considered by Congress provides an excellent opportunity to promote the use of incentives as a way to reduce costs and improve quality of life.

Delta explained that the Federation is starting to contact key members of Congress to increase awareness of the benefits of incentives and to position the incentive industry as a partner in building a stronger, healthier and more competitive workforce through the use of incentive tools. The organization is launching a campaign encouraging all companies in the incentive industry to contact to their own Representatives and Senators to help them better understand the need for health care incentives as a way to improve health care. Planning for additional activities is underway to bolster efforts for making health care incentives part of health care reform.