MARKETS WOULD TRANSFER THE WHOLE COST :

Workers are told to shape up or pay up: To hold down medical costs, some firms are penalizing workers who are overweight or don't meet health guidelines. (Daniel Costello, July 29, 2007, Los Angeles Times)

Looking for new ways to trim the fat and boost workers' health, some employers are starting to make overweight employees pay if they don't slim down.

Others, citing growing medical costs tied to obesity, are offering fit workers lucrative incentives that shave thousands of dollars a year off healthcare premiums.

In one of the boldest moves yet, an Indiana-based hospital chain last month said it decided on the stick rather than the carrot. Starting in 2009, Clarian Health Partners will charge employees as much as $30 every two weeks unless they meet weight, cholesterol and blood-pressure guidelines that the company deems healthy.

"At first, I was mad when I thought I would be charged $30 for being overweight," said Courtney Jackson, 28, a customer service representative at Clarian. "But when I found out it was going to be broken into segments — like just $10 for being overweight — it sounded better."

Jackson said she was going to try to slim down before the plan took effect. "If I still have weight to lose when it starts," she said, "I'll deserve to pay the $10."

Just put the staff into HSAs and they pay the entire cost of their own pathologies.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 29, 2007 6:43 AM