Obamacare Provision Allows Employer(s) To Penalize Overweight Employees? (Read 321 times)

My company has the same type of program.  We can get a $5 or $10 monthly 'bonus' to take a course or have somebody call me and motivate me to exercise every month.

My problem is that I'm too lazy to find my password for the dang program and enroll in it to get the extra money.

A lady next to me received her podometer (thing that counts steps you take in a day) and gets $5 or $10 a month for it.

My company has an incentive program that gives you like, $200 or something if you complete a set of telephone "counselling sessions."  I think it's 4 or 5 calls over as many months.  I've done it now for 3 years.

 

....

I need to find my password.
I need to register....

Na... I'm too lazy.

MTA: we're at Page 4!!!

Rupp just ran 7:30.

[insert cynical joke about his prescription costs.]

cafeteria....salisbury steak....yummmmmm.....

I wrote a really long response after drinking 20 oz. of Elysian Dragonstooth stout Obama sef (see what I did there!), but it got lost...prob. a good thing.

our co. foisted something called Staywell on us, where we have to earn fitness points in remedial programs that make me stupider (three scoops of ice cream has fewer calories than one scoop in a cone...what?!). The point being if we earn enough points, we qualify for the "premium" plan, that is basically what we had before "healthcare reform". Without the points, all we qualify for is the new "regular" plan, which is double the cost and deductible of the "premium" plan. This is there idea of charging us "less",   giving us less, unless we jump through the hoops.

This year, in order to avoid being taxed on our "premium" plan, the company is offering huge incentives, including PAYING our deductibles, if we change to a much cheaper high deductible plan. More health care reform dollars at work.

My company offers what I consider a rational group of incentives.  You used to get $100 extra towards your HSA/HRA for completing a health survey at the beginning of the year; that was eliminated this year.  But you can get a card which gives you free access to a very broad array of gyms, which obviously encourages you to work out.  When you check into the company gym and other things you earn points which go towards your odds in a drawing to pay your portion of the healthcare plan for the next year.  Company health clinic with decent support, and free flu shots.  Just got a new gym and small but decent track on campus, with robust facilities to encourage biking to work.

No negatives for fat/smoking that I am aware of.  While I agree that people should be healthy when you start penalizing for specific things it gets real fuzzy.  How about drinking too much?  Running crazy amounts like 30mpw?  Encouraging positive behavior seems better to me.

 

You might have a low percentage of body fat but you still weight a lot.  That puts you at a higher risk for bad hips, knee's, lets throw broken bones in there too just cause you probably don't bounce as well as a lighter person. To the penalty box you go!

**Hangs head in shame**

What a gyp man...**grin**

I've got one question.  "Overweight Employees"...

--Just how do you define "Overweight"?  How do you put a value on that???

I ask because my wife is in the Navy, she weighs about 180, 5 foot 9, and when you see her, she is certainly not fat, or even chubby!  All muscle.  She used to be a catcher in high school, has solid meaty legs, etc.  I'll even be honest here:  She can beat me arm wrestling. :-)

But when the NAVY measures her, Hips, Wasit, Neck, she technically fails their bodyfat percentage indicator.  (Because she has a skinny neck, which counts against you on this system)   And yet, I see women in the Navy that are shorter in height, over 200 pounds, look a hot mess, and still PASS the test because they have HUGE (fat) necks!

So again, my question... All of us are different, and some folks who weigh 180 look better and are healthier than other folks' who weigh 160...  How on earth can you Correctly and FAIRLY Penalize, or reward, folks monetarily???

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