Quizzify is announcing agreements today with four cutting-edge partners to serve as value-added resellers, and provide them with a “safe harbor” following the recent dramatic and surprising federal court ruling in AARP v. EEOC. The ruling upends the wellness industry by proscribing “voluntary” incentives for screenings and health risk assessments as of January 2019.
By adding Quizzify as a screening alternative, partner vendors avoid the pending upheaval, and none of their customers will have to reconfigure their program incentives or penalties. Quizzify guarantees safe harbor status for all its partners and their employers.
“We pick our partners carefully, and these companies meet our exacting standards. They are among the minority in this field, in that they all adhere to the Employee Health and Wellness Program Code of Conduct, a threshold that few vendors can meet,” says Quizzify CEO Al Lewis. “In each case, they are competing with legacy approaches, and provide what we are certain is a next-generation offering. We are happy to take a ‘haircut’ on our own fees to serve their customers, and provide them with this safe harbor status, because their customers represent the future of employee health benefits.
“It is also very impressive that these partners immediately understood the significance of AARP v. EEOC and want to get out ahead of it to protect their customers.”
The vendors are Sterling Wellness, It Starts with Me Health, Sustainable Health Index, and Switchbridge. They represent a wide range of platforms and approaches. What they all have in common is the recognition that health literacy complements their own offerings.
In each case, Quizzify may be accessed either at a favorable price, and/or through the platform via single sign-on or other coordinated login. It may be an alternative to screening (which is the “safe harbor”) or as a separate offering.
Dan Keith, of It Starts with Me Health, says: “Most people have absorbed general wellness knowledge that we are all inundated with—exercise more, don’t smoke, eat more fruits & vegetables. But employees on a company’s health plan need to know more to be wise healthcare consumers & good stewards of a company’s health plan dollars. Enter Quizzify. Quizzify is an intelligent, customizable, focused, and inexpensive solution that gives employers the best chance to help their employees become educated healthcare consumers. It’s why we selected Quizzify as our Premier Partner for Employee Education. Having safe harbor status is just a bonus.”
Claire Kelbaugh, CEO of Sterling, says: “Educating employees about good health habits and how to manage their chronic conditions is the focus of every program at Sterling. What has been equally as important is helping employees and families understand their health plan. Building better healthcare consumers allows for direct savings for both the employee and employer. And, we certainly expect that our customers will be quite relieved that compliance with AARP v. EEOC is automatic.”
Aaron Davis, CEO of Switchbridge, adds: “We are very pleased to be able to offer this next-generation product on our own next-generation platform. People can’t get well and stay well if they don’t know how, and this is the only tool that teaches that. Quizzify will be an excellent complement to our healthcare data analytics platform by improving our ability to gauge a member’s understanding of their health, medical conditions and treatment. Plus, we are the only competitor in our marketplace that can already check the box for EEOC compliance, without even knowing what the final rules are.”
Jen Gamboa and Mike Riley, Managing Partners of Sustainable Health Index, add: “We couldn’t be more excited to add Quizzify to the SHI platform. Quizzify offers a light and entertaining approach to health literacy that complements our robust interactive Sustainability eContent. Quizzify, like SHI, is looking to bridge the gap between prevention and treatment. We relish the opportunity to partner with those who hold the same values and are striving for the same goal, lower healthcare costs across the board. The EEOC safe harbor is a nice sweetener, but Quizzify is a win for us even without it.”
About the Vendors
It Starts With Me Health (ISWM) is an employee health & wellness services provider & analyst of clinical data. ISWM focuses on the clinical implementation of employee health programs as well as the insertion of clinical expertise in employee wellness decision-making. Started in 2001, ISWM has been a longtime leader and advocate of common sense and efficient solutions that work versus the “more programs are better” approach offered by so many in the wellness industry.
Switchbridge, LLC is a healthcare data management company providing a unique data aggregation platform that facilitates the ownership and strategic use of healthcare data for employers, unions, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare entities. The Switchbridge™ application is patent-pending for its simplified data mapping technology that normalizes source data from an endless variety of healthcare data vendors, transmits that data to a curated set of advanced analytic tools and then channels feedback to medical management, patients, physicians and other stakeholders for quality of care improvements and cost reductions. Switchbridge™ also improves patient engagement through innovative communication channels between clinicians and patients using the proprietary Wellth™ app and WellthCloud™ online portal.
The Sustainable Health Index (SHI) is a low-cost, validated health assessment, navigation, and education platform that empowers employee health ownership. Instead of focusing exclusively on your high-risk population, SHI takes a four-quadrant strategy to meet people where they are across all risk pools — allowing you to target your high-risk individuals while also keeping your healthy people healthy.
SHI boosts skills while enticing end users with fun and engaging messages and missions to reach Destination Health. Our platform works well to launch new programs or integrate with and amplify the success of existing health management programs.
At Sterling Wellness, our only focus is building healthier teams that impact the success of our client companies. Since 2001, we have created comprehensive wellness programs that incorporate a highly customizable approach to optimal well-being. Our total approach to wellness integrates our intuitive portal, incentive strategy, health screenings, lifestyle coaching, and chronic care management.
New York-based Quizzify is the leader in the employee health education field. Featuring material reviewed by doctors at Harvard Medical School, Quizzify produces quizzes and in-depth learning modules that helps employees become safer and more cost-effective consumers of healthcare.
By working with our clients to create a multi-year strategies for wellness initiatives, we help create a culture that fully supports wellness to impact individuals as well as your bottom line. Building a culture of well-being starts with top-down support and strong communications. Luckily that’s our specialty. We know what works, and as a result, our clients average 87% engagement in wellness programming.