Pinnacol adding free worksite wellness programs for Colorado policyholders

DENVER — Pinnacol Assurance, a workers’ compensation insurance company based in Denver, announced last week it will be offering free worksite wellness programs to its policyholders statewide, including 6,500 employers in Boulder and Larimer counties.

Worksite health programs promote activity or policies that support healthy behaviors and improve health outcomes while at work. These programs consist of activities such as health education and coaching, weight-management programs, medical screenings and onsite fitness programs.

Pinnacol’s program focuses on providing access to community health resources and new coordination arrangements with health plans — starting with Aetna — and health-care providers to coordinate care.

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Pinnacol’s wellness resources include free access to community organizations that can offer employees more support, such as Colorado QuitLine’s smoking cessation resources and the Carson J. Spencer Foundation’s suicide prevention programs.

Policyholders also can tap into the Colorado School of Public Health’s Health Links Program, which offers onsite support to help companies reach established wellness and safety benchmarks. They can also qualify for healthy business certifications, demonstrating their commitment to the wellbeing of their employees.

Through its partnership with Aetna, Pinnacol will coordinate care for injured employees, creating a “warm handoff” from its team to an employee’s other providers. For example, after an injury occurs, and with the employee’s permission, a nurse care-manager at Pinnacol can request the Aetna nurse care-manager’s notes, helping coordinate the patient’s care and ensure they get the right treatment and services. Following recovery, Pinnacol will contact Aetna to transition the employee’s care to his or her primary physician.

“Our focus on health and wellness is a natural extension of our core mission,” said Karyn Gonzales, vice president of medical operations and health-care strategy, in a prepared statement. “The ultimate goal is to help Colorado employees stay healthy, reduce the frequency and severity of their injuries, better manage their care when they are injured, and get them back to work as quickly and safely as possible.”