Health coverage vs. health care vs. health Image By Joshua Phelps This is a lightly edited excerpt of testimony recently provided to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee and the Means Health Subcommittee Hearing "Health at Your Fingertips: Harnessing the Power of Digital Health Data." For more than 25 years, I’ve been responsible for managing our company’s health insurance plan. This is one of the largest line items on any business’s income statement, so it requires careful attention. As anyone involved in this endeavor will tell you, it can be a long, tedious and often depressing six or eight weeks each year until the plan is finalized and presented to your team. I’ve experienced firsthand how confusing, expensive, and unpredictable this process can be, especially in smaller markets with limited options. Each year, it’s the same frustrating exercise: request a few proposals, negotiate marginal savings, and brace for premium increases. Meanwhile, more than half of insured Americans still get their coverage through their employer. Employer-sponsored insurance is the largest source of health coverage in the U.S., covering over 160 million Americans. This is why most businesses, regardless of size, need to find ways to offer this benefit to compete for talent, remain competitive and grow their business. But here’s the disconnect: Health coverage is not the same as health care, and neither is it the same as health. The people we employ, with whom we often spend more time each week than with our own families, deserve to be healthy and enjoy life fully. Employers can and should be playing a larger role in health training and education. A proactive approach to employee wellness About a decade ago, I decided to stop simply reacting to rising costs and start thinking proactively about employee health. I was frustrated with the traditional wellness programs offered by commercial insurance carriers, which often consisted of little more than questionnaires or online videos in exchange for small deductible discounts. These programs rarely addressed the root causes of poor health or helped individuals form new, healthy habits. My decades-long personal passion for health and wellness helped shape our company’s new direction. I partnered with a local health coach to build a custom wellness initiative for our team. We hosted monthly, voluntary, 30-minute on-the-clock sessions to teach practical health concepts, such as how to read nutrition labels, understand portion sizes, cook healthy meals at home and recognize the impact of exercise on mental health, among other topics. We’ve never required participation, tracked results, or added pressure. Instead, we focused on creating a culture of curiosity, empowerment, and long-term habit change. Several years ago, we added another layer by partnering with a local direct primary care (DPC) practice. We now fully cover the cost of DPC membership for employees, regardless of which plan they choose. Today, roughly half of our covered employees use DPC for their primary care, and no employee has dropped the service after enrolling. DPC has been a game changer. It provides timely, relationship-based care, and employees report a better experience with fewer barriers to access. We frequently hear stories from employees about the impact these initiatives are having. One employee started grocery shopping with a focus on ingredients. Another began meal prepping at home. Others have started workout routines and stuck with them. These personal milestones, while unmeasurable, tell us we’re making a difference. Bringing the conversation to other employers In 2021, I co-founded the podcast "Health Team Healthy Business" to encourage and support other small business owners in implementing wellness strategies. We’ve interviewed sleep experts, therapists, physical trainers, nutritionists, and more, and we now host an annual in-person wellness summit for HR professionals and employers. Several attendees have gone on to launch their own wellness programs, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Small employers aren’t looking for new mandates — we’re looking for new tools. Programs like ours work well because they’re flexible, community-based, and tailored to our workforce. Federal policies that encourage transparency, flexibility, and innovation in health data, without new unnecessary red tape, can help us build on that success. Ultimately, empowering employers to focus on health, not just health coverage, is one of the most promising and underutilized strategies we must employ to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and build a healthier workforce. Read his full statement here. Joshua Phelps is the president of Winchester Metals, Inc., and has a background in integrative nutritional health. *The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of HealthPlatform.News.
