FAQ's 

As your benefits office, the Employees Benefits Council (EBC) is committed to improving the health of all active state employees. To help employees establish and meet their goals for improved health, EBC is offering the OK Health Program, which is a health improvement program designed to manage and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The program is an individualized lifestyle management and cardiovascular risk reduction program that is scientifically proven and integrates exercise, nutrition, weight management, stress management, and other important preventive strategies to help you optimize your health. Participants in the program will receive individualized, one-on-one coaching by a professional mentor throughout the program.

The program is being paid for by the Employees Benefits Council and is being offered to all 36,000 active state employees at no cost to participants. The program is voluntary.

 

As an OK Health participant, you are eligible to receive two wellness incentives. The first incentive is an initial visit to your primary care physician and lab work at no out-of-pocket cost to you. The initial “no cost” visit to your primary care physician and lab work will be available after January 1, 2006.   The second wellness incentive is a discount at a participating fitness center. To help you get into shape, discounts at participating fitness centers across the State are offered to OK Health participants. A list of statewide participating fitness centers is also available at EBC’s website under the OK Health link. After you become an OK Health participant, you will receive an ID card. You must use your OK Health ID card to receive this incentive. A third possible incentive being offered by some agencies is the OK Health pay incentive. Agencies offering a pay incentive are authorized to pay OK Health participants $100 (Bronze), $300 (Silver), or $500 (Gold) for successfully completing the program. The pay incentive consists of three separate payments payable to a participant upon completion of the (1) initial enrollment, (2) twelve-week follow up, and (3) achieving goals at the twelve-month follow up. If your agency is offering the pay incentive program, EBC will notify your agency of your participation so you can receive the incentive pay while progressing through the mentoring program. You should check with your agency to find out if the pay incentive is being offered for participation in the OK Health Program. Additional information regarding the pay incentive program is available at the OK Health incentive link.

Have you been thinking about making some changes in your lifestyle? Maybe your doctor, your spouse, or a friend has suggested you could take better care of yourself. You probably know what to do to be healthy, but knowing what to do is not the same as knowing how to do it successfully. Many people don’t know how to get started on a program to improve their health. Now there is a program to help you acquire and practice the lifestyle skills you already know are important. OK Health helps you go beyond knowing to doing.

OK Health uses state-of-the-art behavior change techniques to provide you with a comprehensive program that includes weight management, exercise, nutrition, stress management, and, if applicable, smoking cessation. Your OK Health program includes:

• An initial assessment of your past medical history, current health status, family medical history, readiness for change, eating and exercise habits, and much more
  
• Graphic displays of your current risk factor values and realistic short-term and long-term goals are based on standards established by national expert groups
  
• A Personal Action Plan with specific recommendations for improving important aspects of your lifestyle
  
• An Aerobic Exercise Plan for an exercise suitable for you, including an individualized target heart rate and/or exertion rating
  
• An individualized Meal Plan that recommends the number of daily servings of foods from the five food groups to eat at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and for snacks
  
• A target goal for the maximum number of grams of fat you should eat each day
  
• Recommendations to see your doctor about new medications or medication changes, if appropriate, to help reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke
  
• Easy-to-understand educational kits covering numerous specific topics and skills
  
• Self-management tools to monitor your eating and exercise habits
  
• Follow-up evaluations and revisions of your Personal Action Plan
  
• One-on-one health sessions with a health professional, called a mentor

After completing the online Health Risk Assessment (HRA) and the Orientation Packet A, and EBC receives your Orientation Packet A, by mail or by fax, a mentor will call you to start the program.

If you ask most people why they don’t exercise, eat healthier, or manage stress better, they’ll say they’re too busy. We know that time is a barrier, so we’ve designed OK Health to be especially time efficient. Learning time management skills is also addressed in our educational materials.

Yes. The Employees Benefits Council and the OK Health Program operate under strict privacy regulations designed to protect your personal information and are committed to assuring your privacy.

When it comes to health, weight, and fitness, most people make the mistake of looking for a “quick fix.” Let us assure you, there is no quick fix. OK Health is for people who are seeking long-term solutions to their health and lifestyle concerns. OK Health incorporates and promotes these key factors to help ensure your long-term success. Internal motivation – You must attempt a change because you want to – not because someone else says you should. We help you identify the benefits that are important to you. Readiness – If you are just starting to think about making a change, your needs are different from someone who is ready to take action. We don’t force changes that you’re not ready to make. Single concept learning and skill building – We help you master the skills you need to be successful by introducing only one concept at a time in an easy-to-understand, carefully sequenced way. Realistic goal setting – Many people are unsuccessful because their goals are unrealistic. We set realistic goals based on objective measures and standards established by national health experts. Problem solving – We teach specific strategies and coping skills to help you manage when you are under stress, feeling frustrated, or facing high-risk situations. Support systems – We help you identify and involve others in achieving your goals. You may be selected to be in the mentor-assisted program for expert technical support and motivation. Relapse prevention – Significant setbacks can be prevented if you think and plan ahead. Small slips are sure to happen. We view them as opportunities to learn and move forward.

The OK Health Program has strict tracking adherence and has strict documentation criteria. Your mentor has been trained to document all contacts with you and all relevant information discussed during each scheduled visit.

You will be sent a ‘warning letter’ after you miss two scheduled appointments. However, if you miss one more scheduled appointment you will:

Not receive your cash incentive (only applicable if your agency is participating in the incentive program) and

You will be dropped from the OK Health Mentoring Program.

This is considered a ‘missed visit’ and you are not permitted to miss more than three scheduled appointments in twelve months. We will also schedule your next appointment and move on to the next educational kit.

Your mentor will tell you that if you are going to miss a mentoring session you must notify your mentor at least 24-hours before the scheduled visit. If you do not contact your mentor, the scheduled visit will be documented as a ‘missed visit’.

At the time of your enrollment and upon the completion of your Health History Questionnaire (HHQ) you will be told by your mentor how many ‘official’ visits you will have for the next twelve months. Appointments will range from three to twenty-three scheduled appointments.

Your enrollment can be postponed if your doctor’s appointment takes longer than three weeks of the date of your initial enrollment. However, as a reminder the pay incentive will not be authorized until you complete the initial enrollment, which includes your personal physician visit.

The first payment will be awarded after you complete the initial enrollment. Initial enrollment consist of the following:

• Completion of the online Health Risk Assessment (HRA)
• Faxed or mailed completed Packets A & B to EBC
• Completion of a Health History Questionnaire (HHQ)
• Completion of lab work and initial visit with your personal physician within three weeks of your initial enrollment date
• Generation of your own personal Goals and Action Plan
• Next appointment scheduled with your personal health mentor

EBC will contact your agency after you have completed this first “milestone.”

The OK Health program does not focus solely on weight loss. It is not a “quick fix” program. We emphasize weight management, moderation, and realistic goal setting as part of a comprehensive lifestyle management program. Our weight goals focus on health rather than appearance. We help clients lose weight slowly and steadily. Many other programs sell food products. We do not.

Before your initial evaluation, you must have a fasting blood test for lipid and glucose values. If you have test results from within the last 6 months, you may use those values. You will also need to have your height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, and blood pressure measured by a health professional. All or some of these measures will be repeated at three months, one year, and every six months thereafter. Blood tests will be repeated if your values are below goal level.

The pay incentive is structured around three program components: 1) an initial enrollment, 2) a twelve week follow-up evaluation, and 3) a twelve month evaluation. After you become an “official” participant in the OK Health program and complete the above “milestones," your agency will be informed that you qualify for a pay incentive payment.  No personal health information will be given to your agency.