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  • March 21, 2023

Virgin Pulse Wellness Portal: The facts 

April 9, 2019

Marquette University encourages employees to be mindful of their wellness every day and is working to create a culture of wellbeing on campus. Marquette is taking a holistic approach to improve employee wellness through programs and services that impact employees’ physical health, as well as their emotional, occupational, spiritual, social and intellectual health.  

Marquette offers a series of wellness programs and services, including Weight Watchers, GROW classes, Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality programming, the Office of the Ombuds, Recreational Sports and Employee Assistance Programs, among others.  

The university’s new Virgin Pulse wellness app is a resource to help employees form healthy habits by engaging in wellness activities, while earning their employer HSA/FSA contribution. The portal is open to all Marquette employees and their spouses. With the wide variety of point–earning activities now available, employees and spouses on the health plan do not have to complete a medical exam to earn a reward, though doing so earns the highest points. 

More information regarding how to register, earn points and rewards is online. 


MYTHS vs. FACTS

Myth: The Virgin Wellness portal is tied to a medical insurance discount.
Fact: Marquette University does not offer a discount on employee health insurance costs. The Virgin Pulse Wellness Portal Marquette is tied to an optional monetary contribution to the employee’s Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account. If employees would like to receive this additional benefit, the employee and their spouse (if applicable) must choose to take part in wellness activities and track through the Virgin Pulse app. 

 

Myth: Marquette employees are required to use the Virgin Pulse Wellness Portal.
Fact: The Virgin Pulse Wellness Portal is a voluntary benefit offered by Marquette University. It is open to all employees and spouses, regardless of health plan status. Participating in the Virgin Pulse Wellness Portal is only necessary if you would like to earn the HSA/FSA contribution offered by Marquette.

Myth: Virgin Pulse shares/sells/rents the data it receives from employees/spouses to the Virgin Group and other partners.
Fact: Virgin Pulse does not share/rent/sell your data to anyone. The company is compliant with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and HIPAA. You control how much data to share with Virgin Pulse and the programs with which you consent Virgin Pulse to exchange data with such as Fitbit, My Fitness Pal, etc. In addition, any data you provide to Virgin Pulse is given to Marquette University in aggregate form and no individual information can be traced back to you. The full privacy policy, data consent and membership agreement is available online. 

 

Myth: The majority of other employers offer an HSA/FSA contribution to employees without having to track wellness initiatives.
Fact: According to a 2018 SHRM Employee Benefits Report, only 37 percent of employers provide employees with any sort of HSA contribution. 40 percent of employers offer rewards or bonuses for participating in certain health and wellness programs.

 

Myth: Tracking wellness through Virgin Pulse takes 30 minutes each day.
Fact: Tracking steps, logging healthy habits and reading health tips are just a few of the ways to earn points daily. Each of these activities takes only a few minutes. Tracking activities are intended to help employees reflect on their wellness behavior — being mindful of one’s habits can bring greater awareness to both the positive and negative wellness trends.

 

Myth: If I am unable to be physically active, I cannot earn the 45,000 points needed for the university’s full HSA/FSA contribution.
Fact: By completing the “daily cards” and tracking three healthy habits each day, individuals can earn 31,550 points for the year. An additional 1,000 points can be received for completing preventive exams such as eye and dental, as well as receiving flu shots. Users earn 2,500 points for completing the online health questionnaire and 4,500 points for completing the biometric screening. All of this adds up to 39,550 points. 

In addition to these point earning opportunities on the portal, Marquette offers many programs and services onsite that employees can participate in to earn the remaining 5,450 points. GROW classes, Faber Center events, Weight Watchers, meditation classes and financial wellness programs such as “RetireU” all count for points. Employees can also earn points for using the Employee Assistance Program and working with a health coach. For those with medical conditions or disabilities, Virgin Pulse offers alternative activities to gain points. 

Please note that: 

1) 45,000 points is for an individual only—if both spouses are on the plan then both need to achieve 45,000 points (a total of 90,000) to receive full contribution.  

2) You have from Nov. 20, 2018 through Nov. 19, 2019 to earn 45,000 points and 100 percent of your 2020 HSA/FSA contribution.

 

Myth: I must own a fitness tracking device to participate in the Virgin Pulse wellness portal. 
Fact: Owning a fitness tracking device is your choice. Fitness tracking is one way to earn points, though there are a variety of other wellness offerings which also earn points through the portal, such as reading daily health cards or tracking “healthy habits”—manually logging activities such as hours of sleep, steps, workout, mood and food intake. Visit the Wellness Portal and click on “How to Earn“ under the “Rewards” tab to view a detailed list of ways to earn points. 

Myth: I must own a Virgin Pulse device to track my steps.
Fact: The app is compatible with most brands of fitness trackers, including Fitbit, Apple Watch and Garmin. See the full list of compatible trackers online. If you don’t have a fitness tracker, you can sync your iPhone or Android phone to track steps.

To learn more, visit marquette.edu/wellness or contact Kristin Kipp, director of employee wellness, at kristin.kipp@marquette.edu. Virgin Pulse’s privacy policy states that anyone may contact privacyofficer@virginpulse.com to speak with Virgin Pulse’s legal team directly about their concerns. 

Filed Under: For Faculty/Staff, News

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