The Wellness Police Are Coming

Will employee wellness programs become mandatory?

Can you force your employees to be fit? Can you tell them what to weigh, what's acceptable, what's unacceptable? (Do you know that the World Health Organization won't employee a smoker?) Can you use disincentives, and what forms can they legally take? Just what can you do to promote the wellness of your workforce without crossing the line? And it is a fine line. Medical costs are accelerating. Healthcare needs are rising, and experts say will continue to rise - the majority because of a sedentary lifestyle, overweight, and obesity - all factors that lead to preventable, expensive to treat, chronic conditions. The "healthcare monster" looms and employers must confront it.

So, when does workplace wellness become mandatory? There isn't yet a firm answer, but the national law firm, Littler Mendelson, P.C., says it's coming. Employers must reduce health care costs, but putting incentives in place for workers to live healthier lifestyles only works when these incentives are embraced by management and employees alike. These incentives do work when they become part of an ongoing culture of wellness. Littler Mendelson says the culture is changing. But, they ask, "how far can it bend before it breaks?" The Littler Mendelson report declares three forces are combining to create "the perfect storm" in the employer-paid healthcare plan arena - accelerating medical costs, rising healthcare needs based on America's sedentary lifestyle, overweight and obesity, and the coming 'talent war' that will make it difficult to reduce healthcare benefits. "Employers will have no choice but to move closer to making workplace wellness a requirement," the report concluded.

Others ask, "What can we do proactively to address these concerns before resorting to such drastic action?" What happens when companies tell workers to get fit or pay more for out-of-pocket coverage? Do you know what overweight and obese employees cost your company annually?

An example - Benton County Arkansas told employees to get healthy or face the consequences of picking up their own insurance. The county even raised its annual deductible from $750 in 2004 to $2,750 in 2005. Did it work? Before the plan went into effect, the county health care fund was nearly half a million dollars in the red. Seventeen months later, it was nearly a million dollars in the black. From the employees: many initially saw it as a way to cut costs, and push those costs back on to the employees. Many saw it as a violation of their rights. In the end though, employees who made the effort to comply, found personal benefits they had not anticipated - benefits in the way of "feeling better," increased energy, lost weight, increased motivation, better nutrition for the family, a feeling of taking control. And many found the cost of their coverage reduced as a result of their efforts.

LoneStart has an answer. With a proactive program that aims to accomplish the same goals, before they become mandatory, the LoneStart Wellness Initiative provides employers and employees with the opportunity to take charge of their long term personal health and wellness. For employers, the only question becomes, "If not now, when?"