BUTLER TWP — Employers and health care officials met Wednesday at Butler Memorial Hospital to discuss what kind of health insurance should be offered for healthy employees.

Dr. Mitch Resnick, medical director for Highmark insurance in Pittsburgh, talked about employers’ need for “return on their investment,” when it comes to health insurance for employees and their families.

Looking at the top causes for death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a good place to start, Resnick said. Those causes are heart disease, cancer and lower respiratory disease, such as emphysema.

Testing employees for cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, being overweight and obese, and physical activity are steps in identifying and potentially preventing all three top causes of death, Resnick added.

For both men and women, lung cancer is one of the top cancers that lead to death, with it being No. 1 for women.

“For the most part, this is a preventable disease caused by smoking cigarettes,” Resnick said. Trends show the age for females to start smoking is dropping while the age and frequency for male smoking is leveling off.

Mike Moran, director of Strategic Accounts, who also attended Wednesday’s seminar, said Highmark does offer incentives to employers to offer these screenings and wellness programs.

Diana Maxwell, benefits administrator, and Esther Locke, occupational health nurse, who both work for Penn United Technologies in Jefferson Township, explained that their company began offering a wellness program to employees about six years ago.

About 150 employees out of 500 participated.

Then Locke explained, the company switched from the incentive to the stick a few years ago — giving employees in the wellness program credits that result in health care savings for employees and their families, while those who don’t participate lose money in having to pay more for their health insurance.

“This year we had about 450 participate, or between 85 percent and 90 percent,” Maxwell said.

To set up a wellness program, Debbie Schultz, who works for Highmark in diabetes education and wellness, said the best way to start is to contact employees through letters to their homes and find out what they are interested in learning about.

“If you have an employee population that smokes and you offer smoking cessation classes, but they aren’t ready for that step, then nothing will happen,” she said.

Carole Boes, an employee assistant coordinator with Butler Health System, discussed programs that can address the mental health needs of employees, including around-the-clock on-call counselors.

“If you have something bothering you at home then it is going to affect your job and productivity,” Boes said, explaining why such programs are an important part of workplace wellness.

Karen Bosley, director of Employee Health for BHS, said her staff has worked with Highmark to hold classes on health care topics, such as smoking cessation. But BHS also requires, for example, annual flu shots for employment with the health system.

“We have to make sure our employees are healthy and not spreading communicable diseases to our patients,” she said.

Overall, the health of the employee should be important to employers, Resnick said, adding that good health will save a business money in the long run, and increase productivity.