Pay to Not Play
CVS Employee Wellness Screening: Fair or Foul?
Starting May 1st, reports the Boston Herald, CVS Caremark Corps will require all employees on its health insurance plan to submit to regular wellness screenings. Should they opt out of the screening, employees are subject to a fine of $50 per month, or $600 per year.
CVS' policy is just the latest in a series of increasinglly aggressive and controversial attempts by companies to reign in their health care costs. CVS aims to "incent our colleagues to improve their health care and manage health costs," but the move is seen by some as an invasive and punitive policy that could lead to discrimination against unhealthy or disabled workers.
Do these types of policies actually encourage healthy behavior, or is it simply creepy and Big Brother-ish? Time will tell. I accept that CVS' motives are well-meaning, but suspect that a company-wide total wellness challenge, ahem, would be both more effective and better for morale....
(Image via: Perspective.)
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