Little Rock is getting serious about getting city employees healthier, but not without a little fun first.
It showcased the fun side of fitness Thursday with a kickoff event for a new health program where employees could enjoy a free massage, do jumping jacks in exchange for food and grab free stuff.
Events like that paired with health incentives and the ability to earn points to win prizes, including time off work, and compete against one another is Little Rock's way to ultimately gain a healthier, more productive workforce and lower its health insurance costs.
The city pays 100 percent of its employees' monthly health insurance premiums and partly covers a family plan. It budgeted $13.4 million toward premium payments to United Healthcare this year, a 2.5 percent -- or $330,000 -- increase over last year.
United Healthcare originally quoted a 15 percent increase, but city officials negotiated down the cost.
Two of the main health issues experienced by city employees are diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Robin White, the city's benefits and risk manager. That's reflective of Arkansas' population as a whole. Those conditions can lead to heart failure, kidney disease, vision problems and more.
To help educate Little Rock employees on the benefit of staying healthy, the city's Human Resources Department brought in Benton resident Becky Comet, a contestant on season 12 of NBC's show The Biggest Loser, to speak about her weight loss.
Comet lost about 70 pounds on the show, coming in fourth place, and 88 pounds throughout the process, she said. She's also managed to keep it off during the six years that have passed since the show aired with healthy eating and routine exercise, no matter how small.
"I really never knew how bad I felt until I lost the weight," the 57-year-old said Thursday. "I just thought the fatigue and sounding like a Hoover vacuum cleaner when I walked up the stairs was all a part of the aging process."
She said keeping a food journal -- writing down everything she eats -- helps keep her mindful of what she eats and how much. She also recommends people exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
"I'm not talking about being crazy about your exercise. I'm just saying moving a little bit, not sitting as much," Comet said, contrasting what she does now to the eight and 10 hours per day she exercised while on the show.
White said when the city is thinking about its employees' health, it's thinking about their financial health, emotional health and mental health, in addition to the physical aspect.
Vendors at Thursday's health fair included Southwest Employee Assistance Program, which has a financial health webinar and can help employees talk about any emotional stress they may be going through.
Two other vendors, Clean Eatery and Healthy Chew, helped employees learn how to prepare meals, in addition to requiring they do 25 squats or 12 lunges in exchange for a helping of fettuccine or chicken and waffles.
Yes, apparently chicken and waffles can be prepared in a healthy way.
City workers have access to an online fitness tracker where they earn points for logging their workouts, attending educational sessions and participating in the various health programs the city plans to sponsor throughout the year.
Once they obtain a specific point level they get prizes, such as T-shirts, water bottles, a Fitbit monitor or the coveted three paid days off. The top prize requires 5,000 points -- an amount that would take most of the year to reach.
The city is also working with the state Health Department to color code its vending machines. Fattening, sugar-rich snacks will be labeled red. Those in the midrange will be orange, and healthful options will be green.
"It's a way to make you conscious about what you choose to eat," White said.
The Little Rock Zoo's vending machines already follow the system. It will be rolled out in all city buildings at some point.
But not all of the initiatives the city is implementing to push its employees to get healthier are fun.
This is the first year it started the policy that requires employees to get a yearly physical or risk paying $25 per paycheck toward their health insurance. The city pays the $460.65-per-month premium for an employee to be covered under the base plan.
The physical requirement is meant to encourage employees to learn what their health situation is early, with hope it will result in preventing more serious conditions.
Routine physicals are covered 100 percent by all insurance companies as a requirement of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. If Little Rock employees don't get a physical by June, they will start paying the biweekly charge in July.
In 2019, the city plans to add a tobacco surcharge, too. Anyone who smokes or chews tobacco will be required to pay a portion of their health care cost.
"It's meant to be a deterrent," White said.
Metro on 01/12/2018