CVS Workers Must Report How Much They Weigh Or Pay $600 Fine

[Bennyboy]

Source: talking Points Memo

Mar 20, 2013 at 10:20 am

A new policy at CVS requires all employees who use the company’s health care to report their weight, glucose levels, and body fat to their insurer, or pay a penalty of $600 dollars — a hefty sum for many of the low-wage staff in the chain pharmacy’s stores.

The rule mimics other efforts provide incentives for healthy behavior, like the discount that Whole Foods employees get based on their Body Mass Index. But patient privacy advocates have serious qualms with the effort:

“This is an incredibly coercive and invasive thing to ask employees to do,” said Patient Privacy Rights founder Dr. Deborah Peel, adding that mounting health care costs have made these policies increasingly common.[...]

But in exchange, workers must sign a form saying the screening is voluntary, and that the insurer can give test results to WebMD Health Services Group. The firm provides health management programs and benefit support to CVS.

If workers don’t sign up, their medical coverage will jump by $50 a month.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/20/1747541/cvs-weight-fine/

[Blandocyte]

1. Link insurance company executive pay to their own BMI

and then I'll have no problem with this. Wait, I still will have a problem with this as long as health insurance is a for-profit industry. Nevermind.

[XRubicon]

2. I had to get a physical or pay 200 a month extra for insurance

[upaloopa]

3. In a country where obesity is a real problem

I can't see forcing people to act like they can get into shape because the boss wants them to.
Health care cost are rising because big pharma and insurance companies are ripping off the consumer.
Next being over weight will be something to use to raise your rates.i guess super healthy people will get discounts right?

[MillennialDem]

44. BMI does not account for frame or muscle mass. Also it only squares height where it should cube (

people grow in 3 dimensions, not 2).

[gauguin57]

77. They already do.

They already DO use being overweight as a reason to raise your rates. Take it from this longtime Weight Watcher/battler of the bulge! When I changed insurance, my rate STARTED high because my BMI wasn't in their optimal range.

[HeiressofBickworth]

4. Discriminatory

Skinny people also get sick and die.

[caraher]

6. Not discriminatory

It is, however, coercive. But everyone has to report the numbers or pay more, not just people who weigh more.

It's also not clear that this is rightly called a "fine." Couldn't the exact same policy be presented as a discount offered to those who agree to provide that information? I think it depends on whether the alternative would have been to raise rates for everyone...

[aaaaaa5a]

10. +1

We all need to take greater responsibility with regard for our health. A big part of the health care problem is that we have a growing percentage of our population that think others must pay while they slurp Mountain Dew, smoke cigarettes, and wolf down Whoppers.


I don't see why it can't be viewed as a discount instead of a penalty.


With a different headline and point of view, this story easily could be going in a different direction.

[bread_and_roses]

33. Your definition of "a big part of the health care problem"

is simply wrong. Once again, laying the responsibility on the individual while Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Food Processors, Big Advertisers, walk free. Not to mention the problems of "food deserts," low/no wages, foodstamps insufficient to feeding a family on healthy whole fresh food.

When I read that something like a third of our children are overweight, it tells me that we have a system problem, not an individual problem.

And yes, with a different headline we could be looking at this a different way - maybe in terms of workers' rights, for instance.

[aaaaaa5a]

40. I agree with almost everything you wrote.

I only would have added one more sentence regarding something about personal responsibility to try and maintain good health.

If you had added that, I think your post would have been perfect.


I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who chose to smoke, ride a motorcycle without a helmet, or chug 5 Mountain Dew sodas each day. To me its all the same. Its not responsible. And if society is going to pay for people who make these choices, then I have no problems issuing some sort of guidelines, or benefits for people who don't.

[abelenkpe]

63. Personal responsibility

Those are popular words with right-wingers. So you're ok with a corporation fining a worker for not sharing personal medical information?

[aaaaaa5a]

81. Is it a fine or a discount for people who try to make an effort to lead healthy lives? nt

[abelenkpe]

89. In this case it is a fine

Other posters on this thread have it right. There should be positive reinforcement for those who live a healthy lifestyle. Participation should not be coercive.

People should be encouraged and rewarded for healthy living.

[tabasco]

105. Those are popular words with left-wingers, as well

There is actually nothing wrong with personal responsibility.

It's a good thing.

[Brainstormy]

76. Many food choices, however,

aren't really made by individuals anymore. They're made for us by Big Food. Healthy eating has become a struggle, and a class issue. Our food environment is so obesogenic that only the wealthier (the Whole Paycheck shoppers) can opt out of it. Try to eat like your grandparents did--before the obesity epidemic--and see how much it costs you. It's naive to believe this is only about personal responsibility.

[aaaaaa5a]

80. Please re-read my last post. I NEVER said it was ONLY about personal responsibility.

You are naive to believe that there are not SOME PEOPLE who don't care about this issue and lead unhealthy lives without any regard, until their life-style leads to health issues..... and we all pay the bill.

[Brainstormy]

83. No argument there

but my point was that, in our industrialized food system, it's next to impossible to actually lead a healthy life. If you eat.

[aaaaaa5a]

88. I agree that it is difficult.

But you will concede that something as simple as having water with your meal instead of Mountain Dew or Coke is a start. I have read in "Men's Health Magazine" that if a person simply doesn't drink their calories, that alone is good for 10 pounds per year.


Nobody is saying its easy. And I struggle with it as much or more than anybody else. But we all know of people who purposely lead unhealthy lifestyles or chose not to even make an effort to improve their health choices.

We could all drink water or tea instead of soda. That difference alone actually can make a big impact. And that choice has nothing to do with cost.

[Arkana]

116. As Exhibit A, I present FreeRepublic.com.

[apnu]

102. Good points on food and class.

Its all well and good to talk about food choices -- and people should make better food choices. But "good" or "clean" food is now a class issue due to its cost (Thank you and fuck you Whole Foods). Where I live in Chicago, there are vast grocery store deserts. Just go around the United Center anytime and you'll see that the whole residential area is packed with McDonalds and KFC and booze stores. And if the people living there do want to get to the grocrery store they have to drive miles to another neighborhood and then get hassled by security because "they don't belong" Then, if they overcome the harassement, they have to contend with expensive prices because the neighborhoods they have to shop in have a significantly higher standard of living.

So even if a lot of people want to make good food choices (or even know to, I haven't touched on the education issue), getting to the "good" food is like climbing a mountain.

At the end of it all, part of the blame lies on the individual, but the other parts lie on Big Food and Big Pharma as well as our culture. We need to fix that too. We need to quit thinking McDonalds is our friend -- they aren't, not even a little bit.

[union_maid]

97. And Republicans lack sympathy for those

who haven't figured out how to make a boatload of money. Don't see why the rest of us should pay for people who make bad choices in life. Where do we draw that line? I certainly wouldn't draw it in the area of healthcare.

[Auggie]

18. I don't agree ... not everyone shares the same metabolism or heredity

[aaaaaa5a]

82. Those of us on the other side are not talking about the differences between

Last edited Thu Mar 21, 2013, 04:50 PM - Edit history (2)

a Twiggy figure and Beyonce figure. We are talking about the morbid obese. Yes, there are many factors including economic, social and cultural issues that greatly contribute to this problem. But to say the obesity problem is entirely genetic, or is NEVER the fault of the individual is equally untrue. We are talking about unhealthy, costly and dangerous lifestyles. Not just the differences in genetics.



Twiggy was a popular model with a shockingly thin figure from the 1960s


The beautiful, healthy and curvaceous Marilyn Monroe is regarded as one of the sexiest women of all time.

[markpkessinger]

90. But it is also wrong to assume that things like Type II diabetes are simply "lifestyle" diseases. .

. . . and to ignore the genetic component. I was diagnosed as a Type II diabetic two years ago at the age of 49. I have always been physically active. At 5'11", I have never weighed more than 165 pounds. My diet, while not perfect, was certainly not terrible, and was probably better than most. The kicker for me wasn't weight or diet, but the fact that my father and two of my sisters are also type II diabetics, as are numeroua aunts and uncles on BOTH sides of my family.

[aaaaaa5a]

93. Agreed.

AGAIN, I am not saying ALL unhealthy people are so because of their lifestyle. Everyone here has a story of a an otherwise healthy person who became stricken with an illness due to bad luck. However SOME of these cases such as Type II diabetes ARE BECAUSE of lifestyle choices.


For instance, smoking leads to lung cancer. People who smoke are more likely to have lung cancer as well as a whole host of other ailments. This does not mean otherwise healthy people never get lung cancer. But there is enough scientific evidence to support the fact that smoking is not a wise decision, even though some people who never smoke develop lung cancer, and some people who smoke like chimneys live to be 90.


Smokers and Mountain Dew drinkers are the exact same people to me. And given the cost to our society caused by such ailments such as obesity, I would even argue there is a "second hand smoke" effect to people who chose to drink soft drink, dine at fast food restaurants... etc. etc. etc.

You could argue that what this company is doing is essentially no different than charging smokers an additional tax when they buy cigarettes. And BTW... yes I think there should be an additional tax on items such as soft drink. Cola drinks are a sugary, diabetic, insulin killing poison that affects all of us. And it does NOT cost more money to drink tea or water.

[markpkessinger]

98. That's all true, BUT...

. . . Obesity is often a very complex condition, and in some cases, while behavioral choices may help somewhat, they aren't necessarily the only cause.

[robinlynne]

54. Had they created a discount for partiicpating, that would have been acceptable. What they did is no

not.

[Nihil]

100. The difference is in wording (possibly even in the reporting)

The end result of both approaches is identical:

A: "If workers don’t do X, their medical coverage will jump by $50 a month."

B: "Coverage will jump by $50 a month. Anyone who does X will get a $50 discount."

Either way, the people who choose to do X will not see a change in cost whilst
the people who choose not to do X will be $50 a month worse off.



You can debate about the scale of the jump and the "slippery slope" issue
by all means but - absent single-payer healthcare - the difference between
the two cases is purely semantics.

[Laelth]

68. I beg to differ.

It is, indeed, discriminatory if those employees with a higher BMI (or whatever) pay higher rates, assuming all other factors are equal (same age, gender, race, etc).

Of course, people discriminate all the time, and it is perfectly legal for an employer to do so, so long as the employer does not discriminate on the basis of a protected trait (i.e. race, gender, religion, national origin, color). BMI is not a protected trait in the United States. We are all free to discriminate against skinny people, average-weight people, and overweight people at will.

-Laelth

[XanaDUer]

5. Welcome to working in a hospital

Besides them not hiring smokers, you must subject yourself to an annual blood-draw for them to check lipids, if you have nicotine in your bloodstream ( you signing an affidavit saying you dont use tobacco products is not enough) BMI and weight checks in cattle calls with all other employees. Meanwhile, hospital cafeterias serve french, fries fried chicken etc. this is the future of "healthcare" in America. I was shocked that my current job allows smoking and voluntary "health checks". For now.

[kardonb]

8. hospital

Whenever I have been in hospital , I have always noticed that a lot of healthcare workers are really overweight . SAD !

[alp227]

23. What is wrong with being fat? N/t

[bitchkitty]

45. Obviously, it is unhealthy. n/t

[alp227]

47. So Michael Moore and Ray Lewis are unhealthy? n/t

[bitchkitty]

53. Certainly not as healthy as they would be

if they lost weight.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

64. I'm solid muscle and my BMI tells me I am obese

17% body fat, 6'2" 245.

Ray Lewis isn't healthy? What planet are you on!

[fasttense]

66. The Military had problems with the BMI just for that reason.

People who are into body building, many of whom are in the military, are scored as obese. BMI is simply a measurement based on weight and height. It is not an accurate indicator of someone's health.

Muscle mass weighs more and if you develop large amounts of muscles (which the military encourages) you will show up as obese on the BMI.

[bitchkitty]

67. You (and Lewis) are exceptions to the rule.

Michael Moore does not have 17% body fat. He is definitely overweight. I am not saying he is less of a person, or that there is a one-size fits all BMI for everyone. But he, and most Americans for that matter, could stand to lose some weight.

Carrying around a lot of excess fat is unhealthy. Why is that something to be challenged? It's true.

[elias7]

73. Actually, carrying some excess fat may be better than being lean

Before you claim what you think you know or what is intuitively obvious as true, it would be useful to review some of the medical literature on the subject. You might be surprised at the lack of correlation between mild obesity and longevity. Morbid obesity is another story...

[bitchkitty]

75. Mild obesity is kind of a broad term.

I replied to a post that said "What's wrong with being fat?", not "what's wrong with being mildly obese?" or "what's wrong with having a high BMI?"

I suppose there are different interpretations of "being fat". My interpretation of "being fat" is being considerably fat, or obese. Overweight enough that it affects your health.

I despise people who judge others based on their appearance, but that doesn't mean I'll pretend that being fat doesn't have an effect on one's health.

[MillennialDem]

87. Actually the whole rule is broken because it does not account for height properly at all

People grow in 3 dimensions, not two (BMI uses squaring rather than cubing to account for height). Someone twice as tall should be twice as wide and twice as thick. 2x2x2 = 8.

So someone twice as tall should be 8 times as heavy.

According to BMI they should only be 4 times as heavy. 2^2 = 4.

That would only be true (four times as heavy) if they were twice as tall and twice as wide and the exact same thickness. Which doesn't make sense. Even if it shouldn't truly be cubed (because tall people aren't always perfectly scaled up short people) it should use an exponent between 2 and 3... such as 2.5.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

92. it is being challenged because you said "ray lewis needs to lose weight to be

healthy."

if you just said moore, you wouldn't have an argument. Lewis is healthy. you can't be a high level NFL linebacker and be unhealthy. But, according to bmi, lewis and most NFL players (o-linemen excluded) are obese.

[bitchkitty]

94. Granted, I wasn't sure who Ray Lewis was

until I googled him. I am not a sports fan in any way, shape or form.

I said being fat is unhealthy. Is he fat? I think not, looking at his photos.

If you're carrying around excess fat, especially around your middle, you are putting yourself at risk for health problems. That is a fact. I don't understand the state of denial on this thread.

I am not making fun of fat people. My own mother was a large woman, and often suffered the predjudice that came along with it.

I don't know why we got fixated on BMI either - I did not even mention BMI in my original post.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

95. that i will not argue with.

[Iris]

51. obviously?

[alp227]

26. Would you want a smoker as your doctor/nurse?

Health care workers should themselves be healthy.

[Curmudgeoness]

38. Why would I give a shit if my health care worker was a smoker

or otherwise seen as unhealthy? I care if they know what the hell they are doing.

Twenty years ago, before all the harrassment by hospitals, many of my friends were nurses. Every one of them smoked. They were working in high stress/life and death situations several times in a shift, and I would have trusted them with my life.

[Iris]

52. I'm sure I've had more than one doctor or nurse who is smoker.

So far, none of them have suggested that I take up smoking.

[Incitatus]

91. I don't care.

I want a nurse or doctor who can run codes the best, insert IVs and competently assess my condition, make the right orders, administer drugs correctly. I don't care if they smoke on their break or off the job,

[robinlynne]

114. weird question.

[Ilsa]

117. I don't care if my dr or nurse smokes, as long as I

don't have to breathe their second-hand smoke. I don't care if they drink unless they are hungover or drink on the job.

I sure as he'll don't care if they are fat or obese. In fact, they may be more sympathetic to people with ordinary vices if they themselves aren't perfect and expecting everyone else to live perfect lives. My doctor doesn't walk in my shoes, and he/she doesn't have the right to lecture me. Just give me facts.

[alp227]

118. But shouldn't health care providers practice what they preach? n/t

[Ilsa]

119. Hell, you can't get priests to practice what they preach.

Doctors are also fat, eat crappy food (schedule affects this too), and they don't all love going to the gym, either.

I honestly don't want a doctor who tries to hold me to some ridiculous health standard, and I bet you don't either, if they really hammered on all the minutiae of health issues, especially regarding food. Do you want a doctor insisting you grow your own organic food and avoid red meat?

Or a doctor not considering your individual issues in deciding what medication regimen is right for you, say putting you on a ridiculous regimen that doesn't fit into your life? One that youre more likely to abandon?

Sometimes the dr has to put the textbook down, listen to the patient, and provide information they can use to develop their own healthy habits, not ask the patient to copy their lifestyle.

[BigD_95]

7. Im not sure yet how I feel about this

If your healthy why should you pay more for someone who isnt healthy. Or why should you pay extra to help cover the cost of a smoker?

I could make a case either way.

We should just have single payer health Ins though

[Duer 157099]

29. Well let's not stop there

let's also give a discount for those with "good" genes.

Slippery slope, here we goooooooooooooooooo

[Curmudgeoness]

39. I have knows obese people to life into their 90's.

I have known smokers who lived to very old age. I have known diabetics who lived long lives. And I have known healthy-looking and living people to drop dead early.

Exactly what criteria will we use to determine who is "healthy"? Maybe we have to do gene testing to check for a predisposition to diseases that are costly.

[Jerry442]

9. Seriously, what is WebMD planning to do with this info?

Maybe "suggesting" that CVS employees overall are not healthy enough to warrant current rates and unless the CVS work force doesn't get healthier by, oh, I dunno, the fatter employees just not being employed there anymore for some mysterious reason that isn't really our problem, rates are going to jump up.

[frylock]

11. it's $1200 dollars where i work..

$100 month if you don't take the biometric screening. mine is scheduled next week.

[slackmaster]

12. I think it's great that they are taking an interest in the health of their employees

[Mojorabbit]

15. I just cannot bring myself to believe that

My guess is they are going to negotiate lower rates with their insurers with the info and I would not be the least bit surprised if people that are not in the ideal range will soon find themselves without a job. This trend worries me. It seems to be another small bite of freedom being taken away. Who would have thought back when I was a kid that employers would be given this type of power over their employees and that employees would be so in need of a job that they would submit. I wonder what this will snowball to in the next ten years.
Peace, Mojo

[slackmaster]

17. Of course it's about money

[Mojorabbit]

19. Oh, I am sloooow today. LOL nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

84. One of the common apologia for Bloomberg's nonsense are the healthcare costs

associated with obesity.

[secondvariety]

13. Same thing where i work.

The company giving the physical was adamant about not sharing the info with my employer, but I'm not so sure. They're creating a data base for some reason.

[Tx4obama]

14. First they came after us smokers and the majority did not defend us...

... now they are coming after the unhealthy,
it's a slippery slope and everyone should have seen it coming.

[Jerry442]

20. Yup. The insurance model of health coverage keeps getting more and more unworkable all the time.

Combine database analysis with new medical knowledge and you end up with an ability to predict medical costs that gets increasingly accurate every day. Then, if you're an insurer, all you have to do to maximize profits is make the insured people most likely to file claims to.....go away. Not your problem where they go.

[Skittles]

24. TX4OBAMA, you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT

they always pick on THOSE PEOPLE first - you know, smokers, fat folk - THEN THEY COME FOR THE REST

[pmorlan1]

58. Fools

Smokers are always the first ones they go after because they know that the majority of non-smokers won't protest. Once they have their precedent then they are free to go after everybody else. Divide and Conquer is still alive and well.

[George II]

16. Maybe they're doing it backward? We get a 40% discount for participating in a health program.

[Brigid]

21. I just cannot get comfortable with this kind of coercion.

Taking a job should not give an employer the right to control your entire life. What do workers get in exchange?

[Skittles]

25. I'll tell you exactly what they will get

a higher chance of being laid off if the numbers do not please the corporation

[awoke_in_2003]

28. Squat...

in case you haven't noticed, employers have been going after workers for quite some time now.

[Llewlladdwr]

34. Pay and benefits? nt

[Brigid]

35. Is that enough?

Are your rights for sale?

[abelenkpe]

65. Or your medical information? Nt

[supercats]

22. Another Disgusting Example

of corporations forcing themselves into the private lives of the American public and at the same time taking over their choices. Welcome to full private disclosure America!

[Brigid]

27. George Orwell was right about Big Brother.

But he was wrong about one thing: He predicted that Big Brother would be the government. Instead, turns out it's your employer.

[truebrit71]

115. The only thing Orwell got wrong was the year...

...everything else is starting to come to fruition...

[bluedigger]

30. We should just run everyone's genotype at birth.

Then we can determine suitable employment and send those destined to die young to the mines where we can get the most use from them.

[Duer 157099]

31. We're getting there

GATTACA

[Brigid]

32. Don't give them any ideas.

Of course, this is likely what they have in mind already.

[Curmudgeoness]

36. If they don't sign up, coverage jumps by $50 a month.....

and if they do sign up and the weight, glucose levels, and body fat are out of the "norm", will they lose coverage? Or also have to pay more?

I am shocked at what companies are doing, and getting away with.

[olddad56]

37. are they also going to test them for the use of nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, etc.

after all, those are all things that tax the health care system also.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

41. lawsuit waiting to happen.

i'm 6'2", 245 lbs, 17% BF and built like a wall of solid muscle. According to BMI, I am obese.

Yet I run five KM a day, eat well and lift weights five days a week religiously in order to build more muscle. My biceps are bigger than my wife's head and my thighs are bigger than her thighs.

But, according to BMI, I am obese.

[jeffrey_pdx]

56. I seem to remember...

sometime ago, back when Shaq was still playing basketball. Some reporter told him that at his height (7'2" or 7'3&quot and weight (300+), he was technically obese or overweight. His reply... "No, technically, I'm amazing." Liked him more after that.

[Nihil]

99. Shame that all that muscle stops you from reading ...

OP> A new policy at CVS requires all employees who use the company’s health
OP> care to report their weight, glucose levels, and body fat to their insurer,

OP> The rule mimics other efforts provide incentives for healthy behavior, like the
OP> discount that Whole Foods employees get based on their Body Mass Index.

Please take your valiant struggle against people misusing BMI to an appropriate discussion
thread that discusses BMI-derived tests (e.g., Whole Foods) rather than repeatedly throwing
disruptions into a thread concerned with weight, glucose levels & body fat measurements.

Not saying you are wrong in what you keep posting, just that you are misreading the issue
in this case and (probably inadvertently) misleading people into tying the things together here.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

107. shame that i lost interest in your missive after the first words of snark and snide

[Nihil]

111. Your loss.

That's the snag with a lack of reading skills.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

112. this would devolve into a flame war, but i'll just put you on ignore and that's the end of it

[KoKo]

42. This goes too far...and it's discrimination in a time when so many

are in need of just a job to survive and for their famlies.

It's quite harsh, for the times we live in. Do Wall Street Bankers need to sign an agreement like this? What about the Bennet Brothers and Henry Kissinger and many others who are quite overweight?

Why is this up to the poor to be penalized while the Wealthy can Weigh What they Want to...and no one cares because they ARE THE WEALTHY!

If Donald Trump weighed in at 300 lbs...would he be penalized for insurance? Would HE tolerate this kind of discrimination?

Educating people about healthy lifestyles shouldn't be denying them a job or health insurance because of what they WEIGH!

[Lint Head]

43. End for profit medical insurance now!

[Dawson Leery]

46. End for profit "health insurance". Medicare for all!

[krkaufman]

48. Somewhat clueless reporting, there...

The rule mimics other efforts provide incentives for healthy behavior ...

Having to pay for non-compliance is not an incentive, it's a penalty. You wanna give an incentive, then offer discounts to those who make the extra effort.

[olddots]

60. best idea yet as far as I'm concerned

instead penalizing people reward them for attempting to be less of a strain on our crappy concept of health care .

[idahoblue]

49. CVS has it backwards

We have a height, weight, glucose, BP check, health practices survey. Employees can enroll in smoking cessation and weight loss programs. Points are earned to save money on premiums. It is entirely voluntary. I haven't heard any complaints.

[davidthegnome]

50. So... penalize the poor?

That seems to be where they're going with this. From what I can tell, no one who is wealthy is going to be terribly effected by this, only people who are both low income and obese, people who might be strongly effected by the penalty. Yet, CVS can keep on selling cigarettes, booze, potato chips, any brands of soda or candy... they can sell the very things which lead to obesity and poor health, but demand the right to invade our privacy if we buy them.

They have no right to this information. None at all.

Now if they wanted to provide an incentive, such as a discount, for people who were in better health as a result of healthier lifestyle... then I could get on board for that. What they're doing though, is forcing greater sacrifice on workers who are already sacrificing enough. It's despicable. It's sick. It should not be legal or tolerated anywhere.

[Safetykitten]

55. If I do not give them the same information like CVS wants, my insurance dings me 600 big ones.

[MindPilot]

59. This is why we do not have single-payer or even public option.

If it were a government run program, there would (hopefully) be constitutional protections against such invasive and coercive tactics. Corporations are clearly allowed to do this; a government agency would not be.

[abelenkpe]

61. If the government required this

Everyone would be freaking out especially on the right calling it unfair, unjust, invasive and discriminatory. But it's a corporation doing it so...

[Blue_Tires]

85. The RW successfully used that tactic against unions and paying dues, too

so I don't know how this holds up in court

[The Straight Story]

62. Good on them. They should also ask how many people you sleep with in a year

as that could raise your risk of getting a disease and why should others have to pay for your choices?

Anything that you do which is a choice that could possibly impact what I have to pay is now fair game because we proved that we didn't care about that principle some time ago.

I will fully support this and anything the govt/employers wish to do in such a regard.

I will give CVS my prescription business from here on out just to prove to others that I listened to you and learned when you told me I was being a libertarian about other things companies punished people for.

Here is the web page for meds:
http://www.cvs.com/

And their rewards card:
Now earn $5 ExtraBucks® Rewards every time you fill 10 prescriptions. Plus earn on vaccinations and more.
http://www.cvs.com/promo/promoLandingTemplate.jsp?promoLandingId=rxrewards&WT.mc_id=L_HPSlot1_010113_PharmacyRewards

[bemildred]

70. It's like an employment act for lawyers. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

71. Companies have done that for years with smoking. They are free to charge

extra for smokers (including health and life insurance).

[kyeshinka]

72. Good idea in theory...

We need to do something about obesity. We charge higher premiums for smokers but not for fat people; both of which die in the hundreds of thousands a year, and the survivors cost more to keep alive.

But nobody else has done this yet because BMI is a poor indicator of health. I work out 4 times a week, have a 32 inch waist, bench almost 270--and I'm technically obese because I'm 6 feet and 220 pounds. I wouldn't like being charged more for health care since I haven't seen a doctor in four years.

[Myrina]

74. Many companies already do that ...

.... I worked at an insurance co that had a program where your benefit premiums were X, but if you got a physical and were within their prescribed 'healthy' ranges for weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and tri-lipids, they would knock Y% off the prems.

If you were a smoker & got into a cessation program, you'd get the average rate. If you declined, you paid premium X+ addl%.

If you were 'obese' and joined weight watchers or some other program, you'd get the average rate, If you declined you paid premium X+ addl%.

If you were 'ok' buy opted to join the 'wellness' program in which they monitor your activity, weight etc, then you qualified for 'incentive bonuses' that were applied toward reducing your deductible.

[ruffburr]

78. Another example-

Of Power mad corps. It is completely out of hand, Soon you will have to get a anal probe to work in any corprate setting So one way or another you will be screwed.

[kiranon]

79. What if they ask "Have you ever had an abortion; use birth control; Tcell count?"

or does autism, diabetes, heart disease, cancer run in your family or do any family members have these problems? Medical information can give answers to other questions not asked. How long before they get rid of anyone who is a potential health risk or has a family member who has or may have a health problem in the future? More questions: Do you eat red meat?, how many vegetables/fruits daily? drink milk (whole or nonfat), sodas, alcoholic beverages, energy drinks? and so on.

[hamsterjill]

86. I feel like this is getting into an area that is simply too personal.

Will they next be asking employees to divulge how many sexual partners they've had during a specified period of time? After all, those employees with more sexual partners would be more prone to those illnesses that arise from sexual contact, etc.

My point being - where do you draw the line?

[lib2DaBone]

96. One of the worst Drug Stores in Existance....

The Pharmacists are over-worked and uncaring.

The clerks in the pharmacy are plain rude and function on the level of a 6th grader.

Even if your physician writes youa script, you have a slim chance of getting it filled.

CVS is under the thumb of the DEA. Many times they will refuse to fill certain percriptions because you miight "abuse" it. Or worse yet... you might want birth control.

CVS acts like they are god.. doing you a favor to fill a script. I think they are equal to the TSA in rudeness and lack of brains.

[HockeyMom]

101. Waist/Hip Ratio "better" indicator

Where I used to work at a public school which self insured, all employees had to have their measurements taken. It didn't matter how much you weighed because the lastest indicator of at risk for a heat attack they said was whether you were "apple or pear shaped".

Overweight? Hell, no. You could be at an IDEAL (or under) weight but if you waist was more than 10 inches less than your hips, you were penalized; lose weight, or if you didn't NEED to lose weight, go to a GYM to decrease your measurement. They told a woman who was 4'11", 90 lbs, that she would would have to go to a gym because her 25 inch waist was too big for her 33 inch hips. Hello, Scarlet O'Hara?

How do you like them "apples"???? Heath police.

[davsand]

103. I bet they don't give any discount to active gym attendees.

Why not encourage good health habits instead of punishing employees? Pisses me off that I can go to the gym five days a week (and sign in to do it!) and yet my insurance company won't acknowledge that at all. They won't even give any credit for a gym membership!



Laura

[TriplD]

104. There are ways to promote health that don't involve collecting personal data

Color me skeptical but I think this has more to do with targeting employes for elimination than promoting their health.

[lib2DaBone]

106. CVS Pharmacy are God......

.. I was in a traffic crash. I had 17 stitches in my right side, and 5 stiches in my left arm where I pushed against the windshieled.

My doctor gave me a script after leaving the emergency room.... it was for 10 pills of oxycodone to relieve the paine until I coulde get to my family doctor on Monday.


!0 Stinking PILLS! You would have thought I was a drug addict.!

The CVS Pharmacist whisperd to his assistant... that the DEA does not Allow him to dispense Oxycodone.

Well, that is just fine.. except I have just went thru the windshield of a truck.. and I needed the pain relief until I could get to a surgeon.

CVS REFUSED tp fill my script for 10 pills. They went on to say.. I was not allowed to ask if any CVS had the drug.. they told me to drive up and down the highway and stop at all drug stores.. until I found someone who would fill my perscription. They said.. "we dont care what you do.. it's not our problem". There you have it.. the CVS code of business.

So.. CVS Pharmacy.. said I should drive up and down the highway.. until I found someone to filll my script.? Never mind.. that I had just survived a horrific truck crash and was spiting glass out of my mouyh.

CVS will NOT fill your scripts as the doctor ordered., They ae Pharmaceutical whores........

[idwiyo]

108. WTF? Really, WTF? How is fucking BMI became a legitimate predictor of someone's health?

Example: cancer. Someone can easily drop from overweight to what BMI will consider "normal" and yet they are dying of cancer. How does it make any sense? Or are they going to be penalised because they have cancer?

This bullshit shouldn't be allowed.

[JCMach1]

109. I smell a lawsuit

[davidn3600]

110. They are not doing this to make you healthier...

...they are doing this to find an excuse to raise your premium. They want more money.

If they cared about making you healthier, they would give discounts for a healthy lifestyle.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

113. And what about autoimmune diseases that mess with your metabolism?

People with uncontrolled diabetes lose lots of weight because they are burning fat, but it just might kill them.

What about millions of people with dead thyroids, which is usually also an auto-immune disease? You can be on all kinds of diets and not lose weight from exercise if your thyroid is running low.

I went to the YMCA and walked for 15 minutes on a treadmill at a maximum of 3 miles per hour. Now this shouldn't be real tough, right?

You know what I did? I went home and slept for 14 hours straight. Something was terribly wrong. That exercise didn't help me any.