Health Screenings Run Amok?

In 2012, Kaiser Permanente did a survey and found that less than 20 percent of employers asked their employees to undergo a health risk assessment or participate in wellness programs. Some of them have made it mandatory or fined workers for not complying. 

One of those is CVS. The company, which employs more than 200,000, came out with a new “voluntary” health screening policy and says it will ding anyone who refuses to go along with the program $50 per month (kind of makes you wonder whether they’re clear on what the word “voluntary” means). CVS, does, however, cover the cost of having doctors measure employees’ blood pressure, body fat, cholesterol, height, and weight.

Under the new federal health care insurance mandate (aka Obamacare), CVS is perfectly within its rights to do this. The mandate seems to allow companies to penalize obese workers, smokers, and others who either don’t participate in company wellness programs.

You can read a bit more about this here.

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