The New Intimacy

If your employer required you to tell them your weight and other health info or pay a fee, what would you do?

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Contributor: spiced spiced
I just read that the drugstore chain CVS is going to start requiring their employees to either submit medical information to them, or pay extra for health insurance: link

"Under the new policy, nearly 200,000 CVS employees who obtain health insurance through the company will have to report their weight, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol to WebMD Health Services Group, which provides benefits support to CVS... if workers refuse the screening, they will be forced to pay the $600 annual penalty. The company will collect the fines by tacking on an additional $50 each month to the existing cost of the company’s health insurance program."

If your employer did this, what would you do?
Answers (private voting - your screen name will NOT appear in the results):
I'd do the screening and give them the information.
45  (56%)
I'd pay the fine; that stuff is none of their business.
I'd find another job. That's an invasion of privacy.
19  (23%)
I'd start swiping more office supplies to teach them a lesson.
3  (4%)
Other
14  (17%)
Total votes: 81
Poll is closed
03/21/2013
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Contributor: ImaGodiva ImaGodiva
Sounds like they need to unionize.
03/21/2013
Contributor: Woman China Woman China
"Under the new policy, nearly 200,000 CVS employees who obtain health insurance through the company will have to report their weight, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol to WebMD Health Services Group, which provides benefits support to CVS... if workers refuse the screening, they will be forced to pay the $600 annual penalty. The company will collect the fines by tacking on an additional $50 each month to the existing cost of the company’s health insurance program."

I get my health insurance through my school and the local government here in China. Each year I must get a complete physical to make sure I am healthy so I can be re-employed.

When I lived in Canada and worked for the government, each year I had to under-go a medical for the same reasons.

Now, both here in China and in Canada, it was arranged the same way as stated above. If I chose to keep the insurance with the people I work for, you have to submit your health information. And if I can supply other documentation to show that I have my own personal insurance, I do not need to worry. The quote you supplied says, "who obtain health insurance through the company" makes me think they have the choice.

If a person chooses not to have health insurance, and being forced to pay? I also agree with that as health insurance is a good thing especially with the cost of the America health care system.

Some neat articles:
link

link

AS for getting a union? Then they'd argue about the cost of union dues.
03/21/2013
Contributor: KyotoAngel KyotoAngel
Honestly, I can see the reasoning behind it so I suppose I'd just go along with it and get the screening.
Money issues aside, if an employee had some issue and that issue caused them to faint or something, it would be highly useful for the boss/manager to know just such information.

Like if a diabetic has the type where your blood sugar drops really low without regular sugar intake wasn't given enough little breaks to keep an eye on their glucose...it seems like it'd be easier for everyone if the management knew about it and would be better equipped to prevent medical emergencies.
03/21/2013
Contributor: spunkmonkey spunkmonkey
Welcome to subsidized medicine and insurance. It is only going to get worse from here folks. You can get mad at me and tell me how I am wrong all you want, but you will see the truth. I just hope you see it before it is too late.
03/21/2013
Contributor: spiced spiced
Quote:
Originally posted by Woman China
"Under the new policy, nearly 200,000 CVS employees who obtain health insurance through the company will have to report their weight, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol to WebMD Health Services Group, which provides benefits support to ... more
Yeah, it seems pretty sensible to me, too. It's a way for them to keep their costs down AND improve the health of their employees.

Thanks for the Mercola links! He's right on about the US healthcare "system". I was hoping the recent "reform" would actually do something to rein in costs, but with the US Congress firmly in the pocket of corporate interests, I suppose that was a foolish hope. Maybe the individual states' health exchanges will create some real solutions... or maybe we should just move to Europe!

I do agree with the good doctor that the best thing is to concentrate on improving our health through natural means. A lot of good suggestions in those links.
03/21/2013
Contributor: Somewhere Out There Somewhere Out There
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
Yeah, it seems pretty sensible to me, too. It's a way for them to keep their costs down AND improve the health of their employees.

Thanks for the Mercola links! He's right on about the US healthcare "system". I was hoping ... more
I'd just go along with it. These days jobs are hard to come by.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Gone (LD29) Gone (LD29)
Here's the difference between the question you asked and what I got out of the quote:

Would I give my employer that information in order to keep my job, or have to pay a fine? Probably not, and I'd tell them where to stuff it.

Would I give my health insurance provider that information so they can correctly assign rates based on pre-existing conditions (which being overweight could qualify for)? Yeah, I'd begrudgingly do that. This is not a requirement for employment, it's a fee charged by the insurance company that's passed through along with the standard payroll deduction for insurance. Employees are not required to carry this insurance.

Additional clauses like this aren't totally uncommon with insurance policies. For instance, I know the insurance offered through my company charges the employee a higher rate if they are a smoker.
03/22/2013
Contributor: spiced spiced
Good point. It's not something employees have to do to keep their jobs, just something employees who get their insurance through the company have to do. It's hard sometimes to know how much to put in a title; I thought it was long enough as it was!

But if you read the whole article (pretty short), you'll see it's the company, not their health insurance provider, who are requiring disclosure or a fee — and also that employees either quit smoking by next year, or take smoking cessation classes. They say they're doing it to make their employees healthier, and to reduce costs. The privacy advocate is concerned that they might use the information to identify, and get rid of, workers with health problems.

CVS claims they won't even see the screening results, only whether an employee has been screened or not. If that's true, then they won't use the screenings to purge themselves of unhealthy workers, or to charge unhealthy workers more than healthy ones. Time will tell if they're telling the truth.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Virgingasms Virgingasms
I'd find another job.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Gunsmoke Gunsmoke
What do they do with the information? What if your weight or blood pressure or some other measure is outside the norm - is there some other penalty? There is an implied coercion in this - it'll be interesting to see how this comes out in court.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Cosmonaut Cosmonaut
I would just tell them...
03/22/2013
Contributor: jennifur77 jennifur77
As someone who is uninsured, insurance is so valuable to me, I'd do it.
03/22/2013
Contributor: butts butts
I don't personally think that's fair in the least since everyone's natural weight and body type is different. Even though I'd be opposed to it, I'd give them my weight to avoid the fee, and I don't care who knows my weight.
03/22/2013
Contributor: WhoopieDoo WhoopieDoo
If that's what it takes to keep a job, I'd do it.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
I just read that the drugstore chain CVS is going to start requiring their employees to either submit medical information to them, or pay extra for health insurance: link

"Under the new policy, nearly 200,000 CVS employees who obtain ... more
My husband's company requires this really personal and in my opinion useless information. We give it, they give us some literature, we tell them to go to hell and then we get on with life.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
I'd begrudgingly give them the info, unless I was able to easily find another job that paid at least the same & had similar benefits, etc.
03/22/2013
Contributor: RonLee RonLee
Every soldier/sailor/airman has to do that and more, simply to keep their job.
03/22/2013
Contributor: libbyv libbyv
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
I just read that the drugstore chain CVS is going to start requiring their employees to either submit medical information to them, or pay extra for health insurance: link

"Under the new policy, nearly 200,000 CVS employees who obtain ... more
no, i don't think so
03/22/2013
Contributor: js250 js250
Guess what?? In the US--this is the LAW!!! Any employer who does not have health insurance for an employee--pays a fine. So--either put up or shut up for both employers and employees!!! Thanks, Obama.....
03/22/2013
Contributor: JodiPrince JodiPrince
There is no reason why my employer needs my weight, blood pressure, and any other diseases I may have, what if I have something that they don't like and then I lose my job or rumors spread like wildfire ...this is gonna get ugly if it goes to court
03/22/2013
Contributor: spiced spiced
Quote:
Originally posted by Gunsmoke
What do they do with the information? What if your weight or blood pressure or some other measure is outside the norm - is there some other penalty? There is an implied coercion in this - it'll be interesting to see how this comes out in court.
That would be my big concern. CVS says they don't even SEE the results of the screening, just the yes/no on whether the employee has been screened.

BUT - what does happen to the screening info? Does it become part of your permanent medical records, and if so, can it be used against you later, for example to deny coverage, or charge you a fortune for it, or keep you from getting your next job?

It's a lot trickier than it looks at first glance.
03/22/2013
Contributor: ViVix ViVix
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
I just read that the drugstore chain CVS is going to start requiring their employees to either submit medical information to them, or pay extra for health insurance: link

"Under the new policy, nearly 200,000 CVS employees who obtain ... more
I'd probably start looking for another job. I don't need my employer to parent me.
03/22/2013
Contributor: SassySam SassySam
I'd get the screening, but I already talk about that kind of stuff to people so i don't think I'd find it too intrusive. At least they have benefits, some something my job doesn't offer.
03/22/2013
Contributor: rosythorn rosythorn
I wouldn:t want any of my supervisors to have access to that information, but I think it`s a good policy. Though I prefer the Carrot Approach to help people get healthy.
03/22/2013
Contributor: Incendiaire Incendiaire
It doesn't sound unreasonable to me. The health insurance provider wants to know a few facts about the state of your health, and is willing to give you a discount in exchange for taking the time to provide the information to them.

At little financial motivation might actually lead to something potentially life-threatening being caught early, when most of the time people wouldn't ordinarily keep track of their blood sugar and cholesterol, etc.
03/22/2013
Contributor: TheirPet TheirPet
I'm not worried about those sorts of stats since mine are pretty good.
03/22/2013
Contributor: hillys hillys
It doesn't sound unreasonable to me, but I'm not a very private person.
03/22/2013
Contributor: edeneve edeneve
Quote:
Originally posted by KyotoAngel
Honestly, I can see the reasoning behind it so I suppose I'd just go along with it and get the screening.
Money issues aside, if an employee had some issue and that issue caused them to faint or something, it would be highly useful for the ... more
I think it's important to inform an employer of possible health reactions that could happen on the job. but otherwise, other health issues are none of their business. this info. would most likely cause one not being hired.
03/22/2013
Contributor: js250 js250
Quote:
Originally posted by js250
Guess what?? In the US--this is the LAW!!! Any employer who does not have health insurance for an employee--pays a fine. So--either put up or shut up for both employers and employees!!! Thanks, Obama.....
I had to pay a $300 fine on my personal taxes for no health insurance...AND $600 fine on my business#1 taxes for not providing insurance for myself...AND another $1200 on business #2 for not providing insurance for me and my husband!!!! (I had cancer-try getting me insurance!!)

YES--the insurance company has the right to a full medical screening via. your EMPLOYER prior to insuring you. They will then opt you out of insurance or may not cover pre-existing conditions. Employers have the right to fire those who do not provide the info--it is *illegal* to not provide insurance.

Your employer has to provide this information. End of story. Or you are unemployed!!! I will not hire anyone due to my lack of being able to pay for insurance...

Thank the government--they did this to the employers!! We as the people allowed this to happen....
03/22/2013