Thursday, October 30, 2008

HRAs in Relation to Health Insurance

By Ethan Kalvin

Many big companies are looking for ways to cut back on rising health insurance costs. With the costs rising so rapidly they are constantly looking for new ways to reduce cost to the company while still providing employees with the health insurance benefits they need for themselves and for their families.

There are many ways for companies to cut insurance costs, but one new and very popular way is by offering HRAs to their employees. HRA stands for health risk assessment, and basically the employee allows the company to check their current health and provide ways that they could become healthier in the future.

Different companies do HRAs differently. Some companies offer their employees a questionnaire and then advise them based on that. Some companies do height, weight, body mass index and basic blood tests for cholesterol and blood sugar. Either way, they try to point out areas that their employees need to work on and how they can go about living a healthier lifestyle.

You may be wondering what the benefit to HRAs is. The company most likely will offer incentives, on your paycheck, to getting checked out and to get healthier. This would be in the form of additions or deductions, on your paycheck, towards health care costs. This is considered to be great motivation towards taking healthier steps in regard to your health care.

HRA screenings are really a great benefit to both employees and employers. It involves both parties working toward a common goal of a healthier lifestyle while lowering health care costs at the same time. What could be better than that? - 15224

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