CVS: Employees Must Tell Us Their Weight Or Pay A $600 Fine

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/even-a-hunk-of-cash-wont-motivate-people-to-lose-weight-2013-4



If you think it's hard losing those last ten pounds by yourself, imagine being a manager and trying to get a whole group of employees in shape.

That's the conundrum facing employers today as they struggle with rising rates of obesity and spiraling health care costs. (A study by Gallup found that absenteeism due to obesity and other chronic health problems costs employers $153 billion per year.)

And with a provision in the Affordable Care Act letting companies use a greater share of their insurance payments on incentive programs, more and are more are dangling money in front of employees to induce them to shape up.

That's all well and good — but making those incentives effective is not so simple. For example, CVS Caremark recently joined the parade of companies tying financial incentives to wellness, telling employees that they need to undergo a "wellness review" or pay an annual penalty of $600. The public reaction was swift — and negative.


Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100613647#ixzz2Pm551cFy

[Turbineguy]

1. Uh.... let's see....

so they'll have $600 less to spend on healthier less-fattening foods?

People go to college to learn this shit.

[In_The_Wind]

2. That's it! I will move all of my prescriptions out of CVS!

[Silent3]

3. The company I work for plays with the wording, calling it a discount for going along...

...with the wellness program, rather than a penalty for not going along with it. What really pissed me off is when they tied the no-smoking discount, which had been separate, to the rest of the wellness program.

I had been settling for just the no-smoking discount, because I knew I wouldn't qualify for the remaining, larger discount unless I both filled out a very long questionnaire (asking a whole lot more about me than just my weight) AND THEN met some specified degree of progress working toward company-specified health goals.

The first year when I could no longer simply say "I don't smoke" and get at least a small discount, I tried for the one and only take-it-or-leave-it discount that remained, with all that entailed. I filled out the long, intrusive questionnaire. The result was having to schedule an appointment to talk to a "wellness counselor". After dragging my heels on complying for a few months, I finally took a call from a "counselor"...

All this "counselor" did (or should I stay, started doing) was begin to ask me over the phone, while I was in my cubicle without much privacy, every single question that was in the original online questionnaire over again. Once I realized where this was going (after having re-answered about a third of the same questions I'd answered once before already) I basically, in only slightly more diplomatic language that wouldn't get me fired, told the "counselor" to fuck off and shove the discount up management's collective ass.

It became clear that the price for getting the discount, when you weren't already as fit as the company wanted you to be, was repeated questioning and nagging until you made progress toward expected fitness improvements.

Eventually, on my own, without the "benefit" of having this kind of "counseling", I lost a lot of weight and improved my fitness for my own sake. I still had to fill out the intrusive questionnaire to get the discount, but at least it was just once online and it was over.

On the plus side, many days now I spend nearly an hour and a half in the gym (counting the time to walk there and back, and take a shower after a 45 minute workout), and no one complains about the missed work time. As long as I have to suffer this kind of personal intrusiveness to avoid an insurance penalty, I'm all the happier to work out on the company's time.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. CVS sucks

I stopped doing business with them long ago.

[Brickbat]

5. Yes, having the government "get between" you and your doctor is bad, but having your employer,

a corporation, an insurance company or some bean-counter get between you and your doctor is just fine.

[HiPointDem]

6. jesus fucking christ, what fresh hell.

[Indykatie]

7. CVS May Suck But These Incentive Programs Are Not New Nor Evil in My Opinion

Large employers have been including incentives (typically a cash payment or a discount off insurance premiums) for years to get employees to get wellness exams and do a health assessment. Hard to believe but even with a 100% benefit many folks still don't go for an annual physical each year. Our company has had 100% coverage for preventive care for many years and has had a $600 incentive for at least 5 years. We require a annual preventive visit to your doctor or participation in basic screenings arranged by the company to earn the incentive. For some folks having a chance to get their "vital numbers" at employer sponsored events is the only opportunity they will have to get this information. The employers don't require that these numbers, including weight, be in any specific range. Whether these arrangements are penalties or incentives is in the eye of the beholder I guess. I think employers have a responsibility to help employees understand their health status, get preventive care and provide free voluntary programs to help them manage their conditions including obesity.

These incentive programs are getting a lot more attention now because so many cheap ass companies who never had any wellness programs in place before are now putting programs in place for the first time since there's a financial benefit to them for doing so under the ACA.