Municipal Health Insurance Program Returns Money to
Members for Third Year in a Row

The Town of Weathersfield received a reward in the amount of $2,734 from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns for our wellness efforts.

Montpelier, Vermont. December 4, 2008. In recognition of their participation in a wellness initiative, seventy-five Vermont municipalities will soon receive checks from the association that insures them.
 
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) Health Trust will deliver just over $270,000 in health insurance rate credits to the municipalities that successfully completed the third year of its Leader Program. Health Trust members will be credited for their wellness efforts in amounts ranging from a low of $154 to a high of $19,030 (Town of Essex).
 
“We are very pleased to be able to reward our members financially for a job well done,” said Heidi Joyce, Senior Health Promotion Consultant with VLCT. “We know that our Leader Program asks a lot of our members, and we are very excited that they rose to the occasion and
made wellness a priority.”
 
Municipalities that participated in the Leader Program tracked their performance in a number of wellness programs and initiatives during 2008. Each one filled out a benchmark survey early in the year, and then again in October to measure their progress and receive a final score. Actions by towns, such as setting up a health and safety committee or hosting a flu shot clinic, were rewarded, as were actions by individual employees, such as quitting smoking, completing a health risk assessment, or exercising more frequently. Municipalities also submitted underlying documentation for audit purposes.
 
The VLCT Health Trust Board of Directors approved the Leader Program as a way to encourage and reward municipalities for their wellness activities.
 
“This financial investment in a healthier population is one that we feel is very important to make,” Health Trust President and Waterbury Municipal Manager, William Shepeluk, said. “We need a variety of approaches to solve the problems of rising health insurance rates and increased utilization of medical services. Our Leader Program is just one approach, but a very necessary one.”
 
The VLCT Health Trust has 251 member municipalities and local government organizations and insures 5,800 municipal employees and their dependents.
Members who participated in the Leader Program are: Addison County Solid Waste District, Barre Housing Authority, Brattleboro, Brighton, Bristol, Burke, Castleton, Charleston, Charlotte, Chittenden County Superior Court, Chittenden Solid Waste District, Colchester, Cornwall, Derby Center, Derby
Line, Dorset, Dummerston, Essex Junction, Essex Town, Fairlee, Georgia, Grafton, Greensboro, Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste District, Hardwick, Hardwick Electric Department, Hartford, Hartland, Killington, Ludlow, Lyndon, Marshfield, Mendon, Middlebury, Milton, Montpelier, Newport City, Norwich, Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District, Northeast Vermont Development Association, Orleans, Plainfield, Putney, Randolph, Regional Ambulance Services, Richford, Richmond, Rockingham, Roxbury, Rutland Housing Authority, Shelburne, South Burlington, St. Albans City, Swanton
Village, Thetford, Tunbridge, Underhill, Vergennes, VLCT, Vernon, Vershire, Waitsfield, Warren, Washington County Superior Court, Waterbury, Waterford, Weathersfield, West Rutland, Westford, Westminster , Wilmington, Winhall, Wolcott, Woodbury, and Woodstock.