More on Big Brother
As a follow up to my previous post on NYC monitoring blood sugar levels of diabetics, Julie Ferguson at the Workers Comp Insider discusses companies using carrot and stick approaches to "encourage" employee wellness. Citing a recent article in Forbes, she notes how several companies have begun to implement requirements including requiring annual wellness assessments (or requiring employees to pay the highest contribution levels), smoker surcharges, and mandating physical exams for employees. In addition "at least four states -- Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and West Virginia -- now charge higher premiums to state employees who smoke and lower premiums to non-smokers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures."
It will be interesting to see if this trend continues. While it is important for employers to control spiraling health care costs, at what point will employers cross the line and penalize employees for conditions which result from a genetic predisposition as opposed to a condition or disease which resulted solely from lifestyle choices? It will get really interesting...
