When the trustees of the Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium (ACSHIC) introduced small deductibles into this year’s benefits plan, they intended to send a clear message: They wanted member districts and their employees to take greater advantage of a generous menu of wellness benefits offered.

 “It has always been our guiding star that the quality of benefits and the health of our members is at the center of our mission,” explains ACSHIC chairman Walter Michalski, who has been a labor trustee with the consortium for three decades. “If you are no good to yourself, then you cannot be good to your family and good to the workplace.”

 ACSHIC is western Pennsylvania’s largest self-insured health plan, with 71 member school districts and educational entities covering more than 70,000 lives. By sharing risk through an insurance pool, ACSHIC is able to secure for its members more generous benefits at affordable prices than if members were shopping for health insurance on their own.

 But to keep benefits generous and prices affordable, employees of member entities have to play their part, too. They need to see their doctors early and to use the wellness benefits ACSHIC provides at no cost.

 To that end, ACSHIC’s wellness initiatives center around five key programs that are available to all members.

 1) Wellness grants. The ACSHIC board of trustees invites its member school districts each year to submit grant proposals that fund school-based wellness initiatives. In any given year, dozens of grants are approved to fund wellness-related items such as 5K runs, paving walking paths, and promoting wellness fairs and lunches. The purpose of these grants is “to make sure our member districts have skin in the game when it comes to wellness,” Michalski says.

 2) Employee Assistance Program. Lytle Partners is an EAP, which is paid for by the ACSHIC and available to members at no cost. 

The EAP is designed to help members face day-in, day-out challenges over financial worries, aging parents, job stress and health issues with a phone call, search or click. Assistance is available 24/7. Assistance is confidential and free to all ACSHIC members and their households. More information can be found at acshic.com.

Lytle is accessible through both its new work-life website — mylifeexpert.com — and the easy-to-download mobile app. Members now have access to thousands of up-to-date articles, videos and legal documents, and can create a unique username and password so that information can be bookmarked and saved for future viewing. A description of all of the services offered to ACSHIC by Lytle EAP can be found in the “My Benefits” section. The one-time company code needed to access the site is “acshic.”

3) MyHighmark. Using the new myhighmark.com and myhighmark app, ACSHIC members can access all Highmark services and reach the dedicated Highmark Connect Team. The Connect team is made up of nurses, wellness coaches, social workers, and customer care advocates with extended office hours and a dedicated phone number. (884-946-6238) They help coordinate care between doctors, specialists, and nurses.

This dedicated team will also help find the right tools for ACSHIC members to manage chronic conditions, address mental health issues, prepare for hospital admission, and find preventive care, including telephone, text, and video coaching options.

Go to acshic.com or the acshic app for detailed explanations of all Highmark services or download the myhighmark app on google and iTunes. Services include:

4) Livongo by Teladoc Health for Diabetes. This health benefit is offered at no cost to ACSHIC member. The Livongo for Diabetes program makes living with diabetes easier by providing members with a connected meter, unlimited testing strips and coaching. Enroll in the program at acshic.com.

5) EdLogics. This digital health communications service can improve health literacy and drive positive behavior by educating ACSHIC members in fun and engaging ways. The EdLogics platform leverages innovative methods rooted in behavioral science, including game-based learning and unique incentive strategies to deliver personalized, highly effective learning across a broad range of health topics. Topics are changed monthly. Visit acshic.com to enroll and view the topics.

 “Our charge is to make sure our members see a doctor early, take care of their families and maintain their health,” Michalski explains. “Stability of the personal is what provides stability in the workplace.”