Many employers are looking to cut health costs for group health insurance policies in 2011. Employers are now considering and planning on penalizing workers who do not participate in programs that work to improve the health of employees.
Marketwatch reports that employers would penalize workers who did not participate in disease management or lifestyle behavior programs, employees who smoke or employees who don"t participate in health screenings offered by the employer.
Currently almost half of large United States employers are currently using or plan to use financial penalties for employees who do take part in health improvement programs within the next few years. These penalties would result in higher health insurance costs through increased premiums, out-of-pocket costs or deductibles.
Cathy Tripp, from the Health Management Practice at Hewitt Associates said, “The economy and continued escalation of health care costs have driven many employers to be a little more bold and demanding of their employees, making disincentives an increasingly attractive option. As companies learn more about their workforce, they"re realizing that some people may be more motivated to take action if they risk losing $100 versus gaining $100.”
Many companies have been using financial incentives in the recent past and have decided that penalizing people may be a better way to get them to act. Poor lifestyle behaviors like smoking and drinking could result in automatic higher premiums for some workers. Or other workers who do not go to health screenings could automatically see their deductible go up.
People will have to become more responsible for their lifestyle behaviors because companies do need to save money on health insurance costs to continue to afford them.