Business owners across the country are facing the reality that health insurance costs are rising exponentially year over year and healthcare staffing agencies are not immune. In fact healthcare staffing agencies are somewhat more affected because their business is hiring people. Companies are forced to be creative and think outside of the box regarding their healthcare offering.
CVS Caremark, the second largest pharmacy retailer in the country, is no stranger to the trend in rising healthcare costs but has their “creative offering” go to far?
CVS Caremark has asked their employees, who uses the company funded health insurance plan to partake in a “wellness review.” During this review they will be asked to disclose their height, weight, body fat and other key health indicators to a third party and then hand over that information to the health insurance provider.
If they choose to opt out and not to participate in the “voluntary” wellness review, which is paid for by CVS, the employees will have to pay $600 more a year for their insurance beginning in 2014. Obviously this plan has sparked criticism across the country but CVS that they will maintain compliance with privacy laws and this plan is to help encourage employees to improve their health.
CVS Released a statement on Tuesday stating:
“We want to help our employees to be as healthy as they can be, which is why we decided to implement this plan. In fact, we have been working for a number of years on ways they can improve their health through preventive measures. Healthcare programs that incent employees to be healthier are not new. Many companies around the country already have plans similar to the one we are implementing. In fact, 79% of large employers have health assessments incorporated into their programs. To encourage a higher level of participation in our wellness review, we reviewed best practices and determined that an additional cost for those who do not complete the review was the most effective way to incent our colleagues to improve their health care and manage health costs.
“CVS Caremark is committed to providing medical coverage and healthcare programs for our colleagues and privacy is rigorously protected, consistent with HIPAA regulations. All personal health data from these screenings are collected and reviewed by a third-party administrator that supports the CVS Caremark Wellness Program, and this data is not shared with CVS Caremark — rather it is designed to help employees make the best decisions about their own healthcare.
The Affordable Care Act could make these types of wellness reviews more common because a part of the Affordable Healthcare Act companies can face higher charges if their employees don’t participate in company wellness programs. Companies are also looking at the bottom line healthier employees means cheaper health insurance as well as less missed days of work. Ultimately the healthy employee is costing the company a lot less money.
As an employer do you feel that this is a good cost saving measure? If you were an employee would you participate in a plan?
