I guess I saw that coming

[cellio]

A couple of years ago my employer earnestly announced a health fair to "help" us better manage our health, and if we would agree to supply certain data like our cholesterol numbers and BMI and other stuff to them (in aggregate only, they assured us), we would be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card. A raffle ticket with that kind of expected value did not entice me. They did it again, raising the raffle stakes some, but I still didn't bite. (If it's for my own benefit, after all, then my annual physical should do the job, no?)

This year they announced that health-care costs are going up, but if we supply this information -- which we can get from a conveniently-scheduled health fair -- our cost will be $500 lower than it would be otherwise. I signed up. I guess we know what I am; we're just haggling over price.

Comments

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

That would seriously annoy me, honestly. I'd likely do it too, because $500...but sheesh!

[cellio]

Yeah. I made a decision based on economics and (my perception of) risk, but I'm not happy.

[anastasiav.livejournal.com]

Josh's employer has done this for a long time. Enroll in the 'Healthy Lifestyles' program and save about $52/week.

It's awful and we hate it, but not enough to not do it.

[cellio]

Do you have to do anything in this program, or just enroll?

[anastasiav.livejournal.com]

Oh, you have to do lots of things: Get an in-house physical (company brings in medical pesonnel to building, they take your bp, weight, height, do bloodwork), and agree to complete a certain number of phone calls with a "Health Coach" - basically someone in a call center who has been trained to talk with you about certain issues based on the outcome of your in-house physical.

There are a bundle of employee concerns about the program, mostly surrounding privacy. Particularly the issues of what health information is being shared with the company (adding to the mix is the fact that the company is self-insured -- they 100% finance the insurance program and only use the agency for administration), and the real confidentiality of conversations with the health coaches, who are not by any stretch of the imagination medical professionals. Can the records of those conversations be subpoenad, for example? No one can be sure. But just about everyone participates anyhow, because what choice do they have??

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, my employer hasn't added a stick to their carrot (yet).

I have boycotted the annual health survey every year since the first time it was offered, though, because its "counseling points" are not only wrong, but stupid.

I gave it my height and weight (hence [elevated] BMI) and a history of Major Depressive Disorder. It took those two pieces of information and told me that I was depressed because I was fat.

This kind of "help", I don't need.

[cellio]

Yeah, that's pretty broken.

I haven't been paying much attention to BMI (yeah, I know I'm fat; I don't need a new number to tell me that), but does it really not take into account any other factors, like build? I guess I'll find out more next week.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

No. Basically, BMI is the old insurance height/weight charts, without even the saving grace of adjusting for small/medium/large frame. It's complete bullshit (and I say this not only personally, but professionally, as a physician and as an educator of pharmacists). Unfortunately, it's easily measured and calculated, so it's likely to be persistent bullshit.

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Look at the bright side. You managed to negotiate up the price from $50 to $500. :)

[cellio]

Good point!

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I was trying to figure out a tactful way of saying that. :)

[zevabe.livejournal.com]

She negotiated from a chance at $50 to a guaranteed $500.

[cellio]

True!

[talvinamarich.livejournal.com]

*grins* Purely for the sake of pedanticism: http://richardlangworth.com/non-churchill-quotes-a-porny-issue

[cellio]

Yeah, I considered footnoting that. I know it's been attributed to Churchill, Shaw, and Groucho Marx, and presumably a bunch of others. I just wanted a page with the joke not embedded in a longer essay, and that was the first one I found after digging through a bunch.

[sethg]

My company isn’t raising the employees’ share of the health-insurance premiums (presumably someone realized that after announcing mass layoffs and distributing a pathetically low performance bonus, Nokia needs to give the rest of us some reason to stick around), but they are nudging us to get involved with their healthy lifestyles blahblahblah program.

I suspect there is some consulting firm that goes around telling corporate executives that if they do this kind of thing they will save millions of dollars in premiums. Of course, those consultants are charging millions for setting up healthy lifestyles blahblahblah programs for their clients.

[cellio]

That seems likely, yes. This is looking remarkably consistent from company to company; where there's a pattern there's probably a consultant...

We pay a fixed percentage of our health-insurance costs -- I think 20% but I'm not certain. Somewhere near that, anyway.

[dragonazure.livejournal.com]

Self-insured companies are definitely looking for ways to save money on healthcare costs that have managed to double in the last 10 years. The "healthy way" sort of thing is very popular at the moment. The specific details of each one is going to vary, but the general concept is sound--encourage your employees to live healthier lifestyles, and you will end up paying less over the long run because you aren't having to manage all the chronic health issues that accompany unhealthy lifestyles.

The major problem with this approach is a one-size-fits-all roadmap of "healthy" that fails. Each "healthy lifestyle" has to be tailored to the individual, and rarely is able to affect actual working conditions that could be a major contributing factor to some of those health issues.

I think it is a reasonably sound principle, and should overall be beneficial for most employees and for the company. On a case-by-case basis, maybe not.

Personal privacy issues are a different matter entirely....

Secondary issues crop up around the insurance companies trying to force physicians to prescribe "Big Pharma" pills. Our physician keeps getting hit up to prescribe more Lipitor instead of getting people to eat healthier and exercise. Yeesh

[cellio]

We're self-funded too. The suggestions we get via email fall into two groupings: "duh", like "eat healthy food", and "in what universe?", like "spend an hour a day exercising (on your own time)". Quite aside from the fact that I get my health-care guidance from my physician, not a corporate email engine, if they want to send such advice I would welcome useful information that helps me make decisions, like how to structure a small exercise effort for best effect (you get 15 minutes a day; how should I spend them?") or tips on eating a balanced diet with fewer animal products that I can cook in the crock pot or in no more than about 20 minutes of active prep on weeknights, or how to understand my drug options and what to ask about that my doctor might not be volunteering... that kind of stuff. So far I've been disappointed.

(Note: I'm not soliciting that advice here; I'm just giving examples of the kinds of advice they could offer if they must offer advice.)

[devreux.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Sounds like the same lame, recycled, we-already-*know*-this-stuff-folks assortment of pap that annoys me in "go green" publications. Yes, I already *know* to drive less, combine my errands, switch to CFLs, lower my thermostat. There's never anything new or meaningful, and I'm disappointed to hear that it's the same in the "go healthy" arena, too ... Pppppbbbbth.

[ariannawyn.livejournal.com]

My company has hinted that they're moving in this direction, but haven't implemented anything yet. I'm expecting to hear about it when the annual benefits info is announced next month. My fear is that this is all going in the direction that I believe Dorinda's company has, where your health insurance *premium* will be determined by things like whether you walk so many steps each day or bring your BMI down, etc. Ugh.

[cellio]

I suspect that health-based premiums are coming eventually...

[unique_name_123]

We get a $600 reduction in what we pay if we get the physical, do the steps etc. It is the trend.

[zare-k.livejournal.com]

So far, $CurrentCo just has a voluntary incentive program. It's real money-- $100 cash cards, I think, each time you jump through a certain set of hoops (sign up for the wellness program, get various screenings), but I haven't touched it because the confidentiality of these programs is not clear to me. Also, the idea of my employer being involved in my lifestyle decisions at that level gives me the creeps.

I expect that it's just a matter of time before we start seeing insurance premiums tied to program participation, though, as that certainly seems to be the prevailing wind.