9178: Discriminating Against The Unhealthy…?

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

Bosses to employees: shape up or pay up

By Francine Knowles

If you’re obese, smoke, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, a growing number of employers want you to get fit — or else.

Workers who choose not to participate in employee wellness programs or make unhealthy choices are being hit with higher health insurance premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses, said Dr. Paul Berger, chief medical officer at Aon Hewitt, a human resources and benefits consulting company.

Meanwhile workers who participate in wellness programs are being rewarded with incentives, such as gift cards and contributions to health reimbursement accounts.

Employers are increasingly saying, “We want you to take some responsibility, and if you don’t do certain things we want you to do, you’ll only be eligible for the bad [health insurance] plan with a $3,000 deductible as opposed to the $1,000 deductible,” Berger said. “That gets your attention.”

At Health Care Service Corp., which employs 16,000 people and operates health insurance providers including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, the wellness programs include a focus on obesity and getting employees who smoke to quit. As an incentive, this year the company tied 5 percent of its yearly employee bonus plan to a companywide goal of losing 20 tons of weight. To help workers and their dependents quit smoking, the company’s initiatives include requiring smokers to pay more for their health insurance; reimbursing employees for nicotine replacement products, and providing one-on-one counseling. Since the programs were launched, the number of smokers has dropped from an estimated 22 to 25 percent of workers to 13 percent among those self-reporting, said Dr. Paul Handel, chief medical officer at the company.

At Advocate Health Care, employees can get up to $600 deposited in their health reimbursement accounts if they complete confidential biometric screenings. If the screening finds certain health risks, employees have to complete free health coaching and online assistance programs to get the reward.

At Allstate, smokers pay $50 more a month than nonsmokers for health insurance premiums.

Such initiatives and penalties are expected to expand because of continuing increases in health-care costs and changes under the federal health-care reform law. Employers can provide discounts or penalties of up to 20 percent on employees’ health insurance premiums for participation in wellness programs, including programs requiring them to quit smoking and lower their blood pressure and body fat, or face higher premiums. Under the health-care law, that maximum will rise to 30 percent in 2014, according to Aon Hewitt.

Read the full story here.