Health Risk Assessment Toolkit:
A Road Map for Employers
Introduction
Identifying risk factors in an employee population is a first step toward improving overall health and controlling health care costs. Perhaps the most effective way for employers to do this is to offer questionnaires commonly referred to as health risk assessments (HRAs) to their employees.
The Consumerism Tools and Resources Work Group, under the direction of the National Leadership Committee on Consumer-Directed Health Care, developed the Health Risk Assessment Toolkit: A Road Map for Employers, as a resource for all committee members interested in offering HRAs or modifying their approach to HRA administration. Many organizations and individuals provided input for this product. We especially acknowledge the Consumerism Tools and Resources Work Group members for their guidance and contributions to this toolkit.
Using results from a National Business Group on Health Member Quick Survey on HRAs, as well as researching other company’s experiences with assessments, the committee has outlined some of the most frequently asked questions and concerns from our members regarding HRA implementation in order to describe the basic functions, capabilities, and benefits of HRA administration.
Toolkit Components
Getting Started: Health Risk Assessment (HRA) Basics 
- What is an HRA?
- Why do employers offer HRAs?
- What are the evidence and recommendations for HRA use?
- What should employers consider before offering an HRA?
- What are the typical costs associated with an HRA?
- What should employers look for when selecting an HRA vendor?
- What vendors are National Business Group on Health member employers currently using?
Data Collection
- How often should data be collected from employees?
- What type of information is usually collected by the HRA?
- What is the evidence concerning self- reported data vs. measured biometrics?
- What are the typical time frame and range of ROI for HRAs?
Maximizing HRA Participation among Employees
- What are some techniques for employers to improve their HRA participation rates?
- What about using incentives?
- What incentives are employers offering and what do the experts recommend?
Effective Communications Rollout
- How can employers maximize confidentiality of HRA data?
- How are employers communicating to employees about the issue of confidentiality?
- What communication elements are effective in driving participation rates?
- How can health literacy be addressed when developing an HRA?
Call to Action
- What are employers expected to do after HRA data is collected?
- How can employers integrate HRAs into their overall initiative?
- How can HRAs take wellness initiatives to the next level?
- What does the future hold for HRAs?
Appendices' and References
Consumerism Tools and Resources Work Group
Fred Williams, Chair, Quest Diagnostics; Lee Belniak, Fidelity Investments; Veronica Goff, Business Health Network; Greg Heaslip, PepsiCo, Inc.; Robert Hollenbach, Merck & Co.; Beverly A. Miedema, Assurant, Inc.; Theresa Monti, The Kroger Company; Marti Pechnyo, Kraft Foods; Jody Voss, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association;
The National Leadership Committee on Consumer-Directed Health Care
The National Leadership Committee on Consumer-Directed Health Care is part of the National Business Group on Health’s Institute on Health Care Costs and Solutions. The committee was established in April 2006 and provides a Leadership forum to focus on finding and evaluating effective solutions to the health care benefits challenges of large employers.
This Toolkit was funded by the members of the National Leadership Committee on Consumer-Directed Health Care (NLCCDHC) of the National Business Group on Health. To protect the proprietary and confidential information included in this material, it can only be shared, in either print or electronic formats, within and among National Business Group on Health member companies. All other uses require permission from the National Business Group on Health.
2008 National Business Group on Health.
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