Vision/mission:

LifeSteps is a wellness program designed to improve the health and well-being of all persons over age 18 for whom GM provides health benefits, including active employees, retirees, and dependents of active or retired employees.

Available in:

Flint, Michigan, and Anderson, Indiana plants in the USA

Number of participants:

327,359 (all HRA participants) - consisting of: Active employees 58,851, Retired (65) 52,832, Retired (65+) 122,757 and all dependents 92,919. As at 2005 the program covers 1.1 million employees, retirees, and their dependents, including 170,000 active employees.

Incentive:

Each individual receives an annual health risk appraisal, telephone access to a registered nurse 24 hours a day. LifeSteps website, a quarterly health information newsletter and a health care book are sent to each of the households along with access to a telephonic audiotape library.

Attendance rate:

In the intensive onsite UAW-GM LifeSteps program, the low-risk population (0-2 risks) has grown by 8.1 % since the program’s inception in 1996 and more than 75 % of active employees have participated. After five years(1996-2002), LifeSteps has achieved participation from 43% of the 610,965 households and 34% of the total 1,060,617 adult individuals.

Compulsory/voluntary:

Compulsory for employees over 18 years old

Strategies/advantages:

LifeSteps has a two-pronged approach. It not only focuses on reducing health risks, but also encourages those within the low-risk group to continue their healthy behaviors.

Monitoring and evaluation:

The success of the LifeSteps program may rest in the UAW and GM leadership's vision to use a high level joint steering committee, a day to day working committee, third party program providers, support of confidentiality throughout the entire program, and a comprehensive data driven decision making system.

Financial outcome:

• GM estimates that its average plant can save nearly $350,000 annually in absenteeism costs through active participation in the intensive-level program.
• The major economic gain to GM for this program is a reduction in the rate of increase in health care costs incurred by persons in the non-Medicare, TRAD/PPO coverage groups.

Health outcome:

One of the primary roles of the Health Risk Assessment is to identify risks. In the 2015 GM population, over 800,000 risks have been identified to date as per table below:

Humanistic and productivity outcome:

The major success criterion for the LifeSteps program is helping workers, former employees, and their families maintain or achieve low risk status. The increased number of employees at low risk status (4% gain the second year and a 2% gain from the second to the third year) documents the improved health status of the population. Moreover, of surveyed participants and nonparticipants, 85% supported program continuation and 74% said they had an improved opinion of the UAW and GM due to the program.

Health screening frequency:

Employees receive annual health risk appraisals

Run by (vendors, etc.):

GM contracts for most of the services included in LifeSteps using four main vendors: Health Solutions, McKesson-HBOC-Access Health Group, Campbell-Ewald, and the University of Michigan's Health Management Research Center (UMHMRC).

Achievements:

• State of Michigan 2000 Platinum Healthy Workplace Award from the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports.
• The UAW-GM health promotion program. Successful outcomes. AAOHN J. 2002 Jan;50(1):26-31.Edington M1, Karjalainen T, Hirschland D, Edington DW.
• The UAW-GM LifeSteps program has also published more articles than any other employer-sponsored wellness program in America.