Your Company Wants to Know if You've Lost Weight

[question everything]

Across the U.S., more employers are handing out activity trackers and rolling out high-tech wellness programs that aim to keep closer tabs on workers’ exercise, sleep and nutrition, and ultimately cut ballooning health-care costs... While many employees are fans of the programs, which often sync with apps that track user data, others are raising questions about who sees such data, where it could end up and whether such programs discriminate against those who don’t participate.

In West Virginia last year, a statewide teacher’s strike was partly spurred by the introduction of Go365, an app used to track steps, sleep and heart rate. Failure to earn a certain number of points through the system would result in a $500 hike in the employee’s annual insurance deductible. “People felt really violated,” said Tega Toney, 34, an 11th-grade social-studies teacher in Oak Hill, W.Va. “It was a Big Brother issue.” The program was later abandoned.

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What should you know about wellness-incentive programs that collect your data? Here are some commonly asked questions:

Why is my employer doing this?

While the evidence is mixed, many companies say encouraging workers to be more proactive on wellness, with incentives from gift cards to discounts on health benefits, reduces health spending. At Cleveland Clinic it took three years after launching a wellness program in 2009 to see a return on investment. But since then, the clinic—which rewards employees for reaching targets for glucose, cholesterol and more—said it’s saved $668 million with no loss in benefits, and also seen a drop in sick leave.

Who can see my information?

It depends. If employers are running incentive programs—for instance, challenging employees to meet certain health targets or step counts—it’s possible a provider would notify the employer about which individuals succeeded.

Should I worry about my privacy?

Many programs employ wearable devices that track step counts, sleep and heart rates. Some privacy experts fear that by opting in, individuals may put their data at risk. Wellness programs that are run as part of group health plans are covered by HIPAA, the nation’s main health-privacy law. However, many others aren’t, leaving protection for employee data more porous

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What if I can’t meet my employers’ health goals?

Under federal law, incentives to meet targets for metrics such as body-mass index are allowed. However, employers also have to offer reasonable alternatives to workers who aren’t able to achieve such standards—for example, allowing them to enroll in disease-management or health-education programs.

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Is there a risk of discrimination?

Research has found workers who don’t participate in programs tend to be poorer and have less-healthy behaviors, suggesting that in some situations, wellness programs could end up making health care more expensive for the disadvantaged.

More..

https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-your-company-need-to-know-your-body-mass-index-11549902536 (Paid subscription)

[brewens]

1. I finally quit smoking but was lying my ass off there for awhile. First of all it was never

mentioned as any kind of an issue when they hired me. I was there for a long time and the smoke Nazis gained power.

I did want to quit and started claiming I had for insurance reasons. It wasn't long before I did really quit. Then after quite awhile started up again, then quit again. That's pretty common. Does anybody fess up to starting again in that situation? That would have been a mess, not to mention being more expensive for myself and the company if I lost my non smoker status.

[Laffy Kat]

2. I work for the same HMO that carries my health insurance.

Nothing is mandatory but they incentivize it to the max. You get $$$ for "health goals met" with regular weigh-ins, blood work, etc. I'm healthy, at a good weight, non-smoker, etc., so I don't get a lot of pressure, but other employees do. Most of the employees who sign up seem to like it, but it has always creeped me out. I've had several co-workers who signed up and have lost a lot of weight and made several hundred dollars.

[Thyla]

3. Nope, nope, nope and nope.

There is no amount of spin that can make this right.
But at least according to the article black mail seems to be working. Also not right.

[NickB79]

4. Obesity costs this country hundreds of billions a year

As long as we largely ignore the health crisis that is our 60% and rising obesity rate, we will never be able to get our health care system to function properly. I don't see how we can achieve single-payer healthcare here without bankrupting the nation when so many of us are so very ill due to our diets.

That said, I think this approach is not the most successful one, and there are far more low-hanging fruits to be had before we get to the point of monetarily punishing people for their weight.