Healthy OHIO FAQ

Notice Regarding Wellness Program (PDF)

Frequently Asked Questions

If your question is not answered here, please email wellworks@ohio.edu

What is Healthy OHIO?

Healthy OHIO is Ohio University's employee wellness initiative. Available to Ohio University employees enrolled in the medical plan and their benefits-participating spouses/partners, the program is intended to give participants customizable tools and resources for a variety of wellness goals. Healthy OHIO is an umbrella program that houses two sub-programs: an online/mobile wellness platform called Virgin Pulse and biometric health screenings.  

Who is eligible to participate in Healthy OHIO?

Ohio University medical benefits enrolled employees and their enrolled spouses/partners.

What if both my spouse/partner and I are employees?

The employee who carries the health plan is considered the employee, and the other is considered the spouse or partner. This is for both registration purposes and rewards payouts. The rewards for both employees will be on the medical holder’s paycheck.  

How much money can I earn? How much can my spouse or partner earn if they are enrolled as well?

You and your spouse/partner can each earn up to $260 per year (subject to taxes).

  • Earn $60: In calendar year 2022, each eligible participant can earn $60 for completing the Health Check in Virgin Pulse (find it in the Programs tab).
  • Earn up to $200: Each eligible participant can earn up to $50 each quarter by accumulating 20,000 points and reaching Level 4 on the Healthy OHIO Virgin Pulse wellness platform.
When does each quarter begin and end?

Quarter 1: January - March

Quarter 2: April - June

Quarter 3: July - September

Quarter 4: October – December

My app/website/device won’t work/sync/give me points. Who can help me?

Virgin Pulse member services are there to help you with any specifics with getting set up with their app/devices/syncing with the other partners. Please contact them at: 888-671-9395. You can also electronically submit a request when you visit the support page at https://virginpulse.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.

Where and when are the health screenings?

All information about health screenings can be found here.

How can I earn rewards through Virgin Pulse?

Healthy OHIO Virgin Pulse wellness platform is a quarterly gaming system. By engaging with the app or website, eligible participants can accumulate points a number of ways in 9 Thrive Areas. Ways to earn could include setting goals, competing in challenges, inviting friends to join, tracking healthy habits, and validated data (steps, sleep, and meditation).

Check out this video to see ways to earn points through Virgin Pulse

The maximum, cumulative quarterly award is $50, but there are incremental rewards for reaching each of the levels, wellness platform OHIO employees can log into their member portal at: healthy.ohio.edu. 

Spouses and partners can receive access instructions here.

When will I receive the money I earn?

You will receive your earnings on a quarterly basis. Rewards for the prior quarter will be paid at the beginning of the following quarter, and will be listed as a Healthy OHIO line item on the OHIO employee’s pay stub. 

I’m getting an eligibility error from Virgin Pulse. What should I do?

You must be enrolled in the medical plan to participate in Healthy OHIO. If you are a new employee, please be aware that it can take up to one quarter for us to receive your eligibility from Human Resources. For all others, please email wellworks@ohio.edu.

How do I know if I have received my payout?

On the payslip of the benefits-carrier, you will see a line item called "Healthy OHIO" for both the Health Check ($60) and the quarterly rewards (up to $50/quarter). 

Do we lump the Health Check reward with the quarterly reward or do we pay separately?

Always separately – it will be easier to explain and know what each amount was for. Rewards will not be paid on the same paystub (i.e. Healthy OHIO $60 on January 15, and Healthy OHIO $50 on January 31). For this reason, some payouts may take longer to appear as payroll is unable to process multiple payouts in a single payslip. 

When will we get quarterly reward lists?

After the end of each quarter, WellWorks submits the rewards list to Human Resources. Once that data is processed, the payment should appear on a payslip within 60 days.  

If my spouse/partner and I are both employees, why are we not paid separately?

WellWorks must submit an eligibility file to Virgin Pulse each month. That file must identify which participant of the couple is the benefits-carrying employee. By default, the other participant is considered a “spouse” or “domestic partner,” even if they are also a University employee. That same data is then sent to payroll for processing. Therefore, the payment is made to the benefits-carrying employee. 

What other employee wellbeing resources are available to me?

In addition to Healthy OHIO, the University offers a variety of other wellbeing resources to employees.