Healthy Blue Living puts the wellness incentive inside the plan, and employees must act within set deadlines.
Blue Cross describes Healthy Blue Living as a wellness incentive health plan in which employees improve their health to receive lower out-of-pocket costs. The incentive is built into the plan design, so participation rules matter as much as the benefit.
What the program is and what members do.
A plan that rewards health actions
Blue Cross says Healthy Blue Living helps employees improve their health to receive lower out-of-pocket costs. Its member page calls it an HMO plan. The reward is a reduction in what the member pays at the point of care, not a gift card or a premium discount.
Steps employees complete
Blue Cross’s toolkit points to specific steps: completing the health assessment, completing a Blue Care Network qualification form, and enrolling in a weight-management program or tobacco coaching. Videos in the toolkit are organized by 90-day and 120-day milestones. The toolkit also includes a weight-management program guide and a tobacco coaching flyer.
Employer reminders and materials
The employer toolkit includes a member guide, a customer guide for group administrators, a reminder poster, and email templates for 90-day and 120-day reminders. This tells the employer that follow-up communication is expected. A group that does not remind employees will likely see qualification gaps.
Eligibility, funding and plan design.
Who can use it
Blue Cross markets the toolkit to BCBSM plan employers and calls Healthy Blue Living an HMO plan with a Blue Care Network qualification form. The pages we reviewed do not state group size or funding eligibility. Confirm whether it is available for your group and in your service area.
How it is funded
The plan design carries the incentive through lower out-of-pocket costs. Blue Cross does not publish pricing on the pages reviewed. We would ask how premiums compare with other Blue Care Network options and who bears the cost of the reduced member cost sharing.
Where it fits in a plan design
This is a plan choice, not an add-on. It suits an employer willing to put health actions in the benefit design and to administer reminders. Michigan law, MCL 500.3426, separately allows insurers to offer premium rebates for employer wellness programs that show results, up to 30%, or 50% for tobacco cessation.
What to settle before relying on it.
What happens to an employee who misses a deadline?
The 90-day and 120-day reminders suggest deadlines. Ask Blue Cross exactly when the lower cost sharing starts and stops, whether it resets each year, and what an employee loses by missing a step. Put the answer in writing before open enrollment.
Is there a reasonable alternative for employees who cannot meet the standard?
Incentives tied to health outcomes fall under HIPAA and ACA wellness rules and may raise ADA and GINA questions. Ask how Blue Cross handles medical exceptions and alternative standards, and have employment counsel review the design.
Who handles qualification paperwork?
The Blue Care Network qualification form implies a physician or member step. Ask who collects the form, where health information is stored and what the employer sees. The employer should not receive individual health data it does not need.
Common questions about this program.
Is Healthy Blue Living available to all employers?
Blue Cross’s pages do not say. It is described as a wellness incentive health plan with a toolkit for BCBSM plan employers. Ask the representative whether it is available for your group size, funding and region.
What do employees receive for completing the steps?
Blue Cross says employees improve their health to receive lower out-of-pocket costs. The pages we reviewed do not list dollar amounts. Get the plan’s cost-sharing schedule for qualified and unqualified members in writing.
Does the plan collect health information?
The steps include a health assessment and a qualification form, so yes, some health information is involved. That is why compliance review matters. Ask Blue Cross what the employer can see.
Where these details come from.
This page summarizes what Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan publishes. Programs change, so confirm current details with the carrier before relying on them.
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