Building a Culture of Health

Choose Well

In 2007, we introduced Choose Well, a comprehensive wellness program that uses education, practical tools, events, and incentives to promote smarter decision-making about employees’ health and well-being. Starting in 2008, employees took part in activities that could provide opportunities to earn up to $600 in Wellness Dollars. These activities included participation in a personal health screening, a physical exam by his or her physician, quarterly physical challenges that set goals for an amount of time to exercise, and involvement in community events that required physical activity. In 2008, 63 percent of Team El Paso participated in Choose Well and earned more than $1.3 million in Wellness Dollars. Wellness Dollars are applied to health spending accounts for employees and can be used for any eligible healthcare expense.

Comprehensive Benefit Plans

El Paso offers full-time employees a range of conventional health-related benefits, such as medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment, as well as legal insurance coverage to fit our employee’s needs. In addition, domestic partner benefits are extended to same-sex couples. This year, employee medical coverage rates remained flat compared with 2007. To avoid increased rates for employees, El Paso increased its cost-sharing from 81 percent to 82 percent in 2008.

Select Plus Program

El Paso’s Select Plus program is an innovative employee benefit that helps employees with the coordination and provision of medical care for defined catastrophic conditions. In addition to assuring quality medical care at recognized medical centers of excellence located in Houston, the program covers deductibles and certain out-of-pocket expenses for employees and their covered dependents.

Medical conditions eligible for assistance through the Select Plus program include cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurosurgical disorders. Employees are treated at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Neuro Surgical Center at The Methodist Hospital.

The program has no requirements for eligibility, but employees and eligible dependents must be enrolled and covered under an El Paso health benefits plan. In 2008, 84 individuals, either employees or their dependents, benefited from this program.

Employee Fitness Program

As part of our focus on wellness, we began renovating our employee fitness center in Houston in late 2007. We installed new aerobic and strength-training equipment, upgraded the flooring, expanded the workout area, improved the indoor track, updated fit and finishes throughout the facility, and improved the shower and locker areas. Membership at our fitness center, which is free to all employees, has continued to increase. Of our 1,950 Houston-based employees, almost 1,300 have memberships at the El Paso Fitness Center, compared with 424 in November 2006. Employees outside the Houston area are eligible for a $25 monthly fitness subsidy to cover their membership at the fitness center of their choice. As of December 31, 2008, El Paso subsidized fitness center memberships for 774 employees. We have continued to increase our budget for these programs to ensure a healthy and fit workforce.

Employee Assistance Program

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a gateway to comprehensive counseling, education, and referral services and resources for employees and members of their household.

In 2008, approximately 5 percent of El Paso employees took advantage of their EAP benefits.