Case study: Automotive group sees increased engagement with a type 2 diabetes-specific health plan
To help employees better control their type 2 diabetes, Gurley Leep started offering the Level2 Health Plan by UnitedHealthcare.
Building healthier workplaces together
Treating employees like family
At Gurley Leep’s 23 dealerships across the Midwest, 1,300+ employees work as salespeople, service technicians, general managers, service advisors, painters, body shop technicians and more.
“Gurley Leep started as a family business, and even though it’s grown from one dealership to 23, the owners still consider it a family business,” says Bobbi Imel, human resources director for Gurley Leep.
That family feel extends to the company’s benefit offerings. Whether it’s the “Make a Memory” matching vacation fund or dependent college scholarship support, Gurley Leep offers its workforce a competitive suite of benefits that also includes an HDHP and HSA to which Gurley Leep contributes up to $600 per quarter for eligible employees.
In 2023, Gurley Leep also added Level2—a health plan that guaranteed them 5% savings in the first year, 5% savings in the second year and 6% savings in the third year.
Providing specialized diabetes support
Through annual wellness screenings, Gurley Leep discovered that a number of employees were dealing with type 2 diabetes, which affects 1 in 10 Americans and accounts for 1 in 4 health care dollars.¹ For many employers like Gurley Leep, continuing at that cost trend is unsustainable.
Gurley Leep initially contracted with a vendor to help its employees manage their type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, “we just didn’t have a lot of traction with the program,” Imel says.
As a result, the company decided to switch course and offer employees the Level2 Health Plan in 2023.
Level2 by UnitedHealthcare is a different kind of health plan that provides coverage to employees and families who are managing a type 2 diabetes diagnosis — even when just one family member has type 2 diabetes. Offering no-cost access to Level2 Specialty Care teams who focus on improving type 2 diabetes treatment with wearable technology, personalized insights and expert care, Level2 is designed to drive better health outcomes and help employees and employers save money.
Members who activate the Level2 Specialty Care program can earn 100% coverage on common type 2 diabetes medication and supplies, lab work and primary care visits to high-value physicians by engaging in activities that will help manage their type 2 diabetes. For instance, employees can wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which can help them understand how specific foods and activities impact their glucose levels.
Increasing engagement
In its first 6 months of offering Level2, Gurley Leep experienced higher engagement among employees than they had with their previous diabetes management program. In fact, 97% of verified type 2 diabetes members activated the Level2 Specialty Care program — and nearly 80% of those connected their CGM.
Part of that engagement can be attributed to the open enrollment resources and materials provided by Level2 that Imel says were easy to slot into their email communications and employee intranet forum.
“Looking forward, it would be nice if we could reach 100% participation,” says Imel, adding that they anticipate additional sign-ups in coming years.
Gurley Leep Benefits Manager Teresa Grace sees Level2 as a small but powerful picture of how the company cares for its workforce.
“This company really does care about their employees,” Grace says. “They want the best for them. When employees don’t have to worry about their benefits, they can really focus on the work they need to do for the company.”
