Workforce Management
October 19, 2009
Stinging from yet another year of rising health care costs, some employers are forcing high-risk employees to pay more—in some cases, a lot more—for their health care coverage in 2010.
While smoking surcharges remain the most popular added premium assessment used, the size has grown significantly from a nominal fee when such surcharges were introduced several years ago to what many consider “real money,” especially during a recession.
A few intrepid employers have gone a step further, relegating employees who decline to take better care of themselves to health plans that provide less coverage.
Some benefits law experts are concerned these employers may be pushing the envelope a bit too far, but legislation passed last week by the Senate Finance Committee appears to reinforce employers’ aggressive efforts to rein in health care costs through the use of incentives.
More than half of employers plan to introduce or expand an existing wellness program next year to lower health care costs, according to the 2009 Benefits & Talent Survey by Aon Consulting, a unit of Chicago-based Aon Corp. Of those, 34 percent plan to either introduce or increase financial incentives for their wellness programs in 2010.
Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/26/74/25.php
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