Health Care Managers Padding Benefit Packages

For many communities, the tight labor market is loosening its stranglehold on employers, but Northwest Arkansas seems to be an exception.

Unemployment for the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan statistical area was 2 percent in November 2001, rising 26 percent from 1.6 percent in November 2000.

Nationally, 5.7 percent of the population was unemployed in November, up 44 percent from November 2000. Locally, Fort Smith’s MSA unemployment increased by 28 percent, leaving 3.8 percent of workers jobless.

Human resource managers in Washington and Benton counties are still operating in a relatively tight labor market.

Employees in Northwest Arkansas can still afford to be choosy, biding for shiny perks and benefits.

Area companies filtered the rising costs of health insurance as long as they could to help recruit and retain valuable employees.

Now, the growing premiums have toppled many firms’ ability to absorb the costs, and most companies have started passing increases on to their employees.

Some health care administrators creatively offset the insurance rate jumps to maintain a competitive recruitment edge.

“We’ve got to get those qualified individuals in the door, and we’ve got to hang on to them once they’re here,” said Dee Turner, Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital’s human resource director.

One popular hospital tactic is fattening employees’ internal benefits, such as reducing the cost of in-house care and widening insurance coverage options.

Turner said she is spearheading some benefit-package changes for the staff because of the insurance tolls.

This is the first year in seven that SSMH has passed any increase to employees, she added, and the hospital will absorb 75 percent of the growth.

Turner said she and the SSMH administration are considering revamping the hospital’s vacation/holiday/sick leave policies and deepening the discounts for in-house treatment.

She wouldn’t disclose details of the hospital’s plans because they are still in the works, but she said, “I think our employees will be pleased.”

Rick Barclay, human resource director at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rogers, said the hospital increased insurance rates this year, but only for spouses and dependents. Staff members themselves received no rate increase.

Barclay said St. Mary’s reacted to the hikes by working to reduce the need for health insurance. St. Mary’s is self-insured, a common practice in health care, and employees’ claims usually come directly from the premiums they paid.

Preventative health care is the key to St. Mary’s plan, Barclay said, because a healthier group makes fewer claims.

Already, the hospital used an assessment program to make employees aware of their risk for health problems. Examinations evaluated employees’ blood pressure, smoking status and cholesterol level.

This year, Barclay said, he hopes to offer incentives to employees for participating in the program. With the incentives in place, employees could earn rewards such as cash and free gym memberships for improving upon their assessment.

St. Mary’s also offers free smoking cessation classes as smokers cost more to insure than nonsmokers.

Comparing the Numbers

2001 unemployment rates show that the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA figures are consistantly less than half of state and national rates.

Month — State of Arkansas — United States of America — Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers

Jan. — 5.2% — 4.7% — 2.3%

Feb. — 5.1% — 4.6% — 2.1%

March — 4.4% — 4.6% — 1.9%

April — 4.2% — 4.2% — 1.8%

May — 4.4% — 4.1% — 1.9%

June — 5.2% — 4.7% — 2.3%

July — 5.1% — 4.7% — 2.3%

Aug. — 4.5% — 4.9% — 2.1%

Sept. — 4.3% — 4.7% — 2.0%

Oct. — 3.6% — 5.0% — 1.7%

Nov. — 4.1% — 5.3% — 2.0%

Note: Figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Source: Arkansas Employment Security Department