Employees starting to pay for poor health

updated 1:22 p.m. ET Sept. 10, 2007

CINCINNATI - First they tried nudging. Now companies are penalizing workers who have high health risks such as obesity and high blood pressure or cholesterol as insurance costs climb.

Lee Morrison, 51, doesn’t mind the push, which came in the form of added insurance charges from his employer, Western & Southern Financial Group.

“I knew if I wanted to be healthier and pay less, it was up to me to do something about it,” said Morrison, who has lost 54 pounds and lowered his body mass index enough to earn refunds the past two years.

A small number of companies have linked health factors to what employees pay for benefits, but the practice is expected to grow now that some federal rules have been finalized, spelling out what’s allowed by law. Employee advocates worry that other anti-discrimination laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act won’t cover the person who is 20 or 30 pounds overweight.

The businesses are deducting from employees’ paychecks, adding insurance surcharges or offering insurance discounts or rebates only to low-risk workers.

“Employers know they have to do something,” said Garry Mathiason, a senior partner at the national employment and labor law firm Littler Mendelson, based in Boston. “I believe that in just the next two years more employers will turn to penalties to change employee behavior.”

Mathiason said more than 300 companies have sought advice on creating more aggressive wellness programs since the firm released a study in April on legal issues and trends associated with requiring healthy practices.

Fact file How to complain If your obesity is a result of another illness, such as a thyroid problem or diabetes, you may have some rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Also, if an employer regards your obesity as a disability and fires you or demotes you, then you may have a claim. Even though it’s a long shot, Chris Kuczynski of the EEOC suggests workers should contact the commission by clicking here and see if their case has merit. Also, while the EEOC has yet to take a stand on the many wellness programs popping up in companies across the country, if your employer’s program starts crossing the line by requiring medical exams or unrealistic physical activity, it may run afoul of the ADA.

Health care spending in the United States is estimated to reach $2.2 trillion this year, with at least 54 percent of spending in the private sector, and is expected to nearly double by 2016, according to the National Coalition on Health Care.

A 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed about two-thirds of adults in the United States were overweight and almost one-third obese. A U.S. surgeon general’s report said health care costs of obesity totaled more than $117 billion in 2000.

More employers have charged higher insurance premiums the past few years for tobacco-using employees. Otherwise, wellness programs had been primarily voluntary, offering in-house fitness centers and free health screenings, for instance.

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But many employees of Indianapolis-based Clarian Health didn’t use the programs, hospital spokesman James Wide said.

In 2009 the company will start reducing pay for employees in its health plan by $10 per paycheck if their BMI — a measurement of body fat through a height and weight ratio — is in the obese range of more than 29.9. The deduction will be $5 per check if they don’t meet required cholesterol, blood pressure or blood glucose measurements. Workers will be required to complete an annual health risk assessment and can appeal to have their fees dropped if they show improvement.

“We want more people to participate so that they can take control of their health,” Wide said.

Some workers and employee advocates say companies are intruding in workers’ private lives.

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