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!

[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.

[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.

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

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

[talvinamarich.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.