Forced To Be Fit At Work?

(CBS)  For Kym Jackson, exercise is a way of life now. Two years of a rigorous regimen have literally transformed her.

As CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds notes, she really does look like a different person now - a completely different person.

But Jackson changed because she had little choice.

Her employer, the Benton County, Ark., government, told her and every other out-of shape worker to get healthy or be punished, because the cost of providing health care coverage for them was getting out of hand.

"I have to tell you, when our plan was hemorrhaging, it was about a bottom-line issue," said Benton County's human resources director Barbara Ludwig. "But it was an employee's bottom-line."

The county raised its annual deductible from $750 in 2004 to $2,750 in 2005.

But it built an incentive into the plan enabling county workers to cut that amount to as low as $500 if they were able to pass yearly fitness tests: cholesterol lower than 160; glucose lower than 126; blood pressure 140 over 90 and no nicotine.

Get healthy, save money.

But many employers were offended - initially.

A prison guard, Andy Bowman, said his first reaction was: "didn't like it."

Why not?

"I didn't want no one telling me I'm out of shape," Bowman said. "No one wants to have it in their face."

Another guard, Mark, said: "I think at first you're a little skeptical, picking on me because I'm fat."

So Reynolds asked the HR manager, "You're forcing a lifestyle on your workers?"

"We had to do something to protect the plan and protect their access to health care. And I think there's a lot of companies out there that are facing the same thing that we were," Ludwig said.

She's right. A growing number of companies are telling workers to get healthy or pay more for insurance.

So, is the plan working? Consider the numbers. Before it went into effect, the county health care fund was nearly half a million dollars in the red. Seventeen months after it went into effect, the county health care fund was nearly a million dollars in the black.

Healthier workers, it seems, are filing less expensive claims.

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Couric & Co. Blog: Forced to be Fit

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Reynolds spoke with a handful of workers, asking how much weight they've lost. One, Angie, said she'd lost 22 pounds. Mark had lost 40 and Andy had lost 54.

Still, critics worry that some employers have ulterior motives.

"They're looking for ways to cut costs and, unfortunately, some employers are going about it the wrong way, and they're trying to simply push those costs onto their employees," said Jeremy Gruber of the National Work Rights Institute.

Even for Jackson, when the program began she found it intrusive.

"Oh yes, I hated it - I thought it was a violation of my rights," she said.

But she admits being told to lose weight or lose money has paid off.

"I feel so much better!" she said.

[hrbc1]

capuletnew wrote: "How can a company force employees to be fit without providing them the means? Companies need to have gyms or discounts with local health clubs, time to exercise during working hours, something more than "Exercise or pay up." We, (at Benton County) are paid by the taxpayers and I don''t think they would go for allowing people to exercise during working hours. We are in the process of trying to get exercise equipment donated so we can have an exercise room. The employees that are required to pass medical exams for their jobs (i.e. sheriff deputies, jailer, etc.) are allowed to exercise during work time. We don''t force our people to lose weight or stop smoking. It is a personal choice. However, if they do lose weight or stop smoking there is an incentive built into the plan. We also work with area fitness centers to get discounts for our employees and we do offer smoking cessation programs during the lunch hour. Ultimately self-improvement is up to the individual--we can only change ourselves. It really is about personal accountability.

[jdadee]

I am in the military. We are required to be fit or face A LOT of extra mandatory physical activity and possibly termination. The big difference is that we are allotted time during working hours to exercise. How can a company force employees to be fit without providing them the means? Companies need to have gyms or discounts with local health clubs, time to exercise during working hours, something more than "Exercise or pay up."

[memerider]

The only problem I see is that many companies require unreasonable overtime. In large cities, workers have to agree to this just to be employed, so they are exhausted by overwork. It leaves no time for family, exercise, and life. If organizations can force workers to be fit, then workers should be able to work only 40 hours per week so they can add this in. Better yet, workplaces should make allowances for workers to exercise during the workday, especially if they must work overtime.

[chpsusan]

I think this is the greatest thing to happen yet in the workforce. Why should those who CHOOSE to be fit and healthy have to take care of those who CHOOSE NOT to be? That makes zero since to me. If health care worked like auto insurance, this country might not be in the shape it is today. The concept is there people. You either start taking care of yourself since you don''t seem to know how without being told or pay the price.. It''s real simple math.
Let''s hope more companies get on the band wagon with health care like this............

[nholt06]

To MSWOLFSTOCK: Your comment:
"They will always meet with opposition and resentment when they fail to reward the existing good behavior instead of punishing the bad behavior."
You''re right! However, the county plan highlighted in the story said that those who failed to meet the various healthy criteria (blood pressure, Cholesterol, etc.) had to pay higher deductible. Those who met the criteria, whether they had to work to get there, or were healthy already, paid as little as $500 (vs. 2,750). You, as a fit, healthy individual, would be rewarded for it, by paying less than everyone was paying under the old plan, which was $750.
So you are right, rewards need to go to those who have always led the way, not just to the "most improved."

[hrbc1]

Skinnyminny2- I am sorry that you are facing such a challenge. What you have is a disease and it is protected by law. For our employees who are morbidly obese due to a genetic disorder, they would be able to appeal the test and as long as they are under a doctor''s care and working on it, they could receive the credit. For those who feel we are just making it tougher for people to be insured, I want you to know that we pay 100% of the employee''s premium at Benton County. They don''t pay anything for their coverage. We also have a $20 co-pay. They can go to a doctor, even a specialist for $20. The problem was the claims were so high that we were at a breaking point. We were considering charging a premium, eliminating the co-pay or giving them cash and let them find their own insurance. The problem with these choices is that these choices would block many employees from getting healthcare and in some cases block them from being insured.

[skinnyminny2]

I''ve collapsed 4 times in the past year and needed extended medical treatment. I''m 20 lb underweight, a closet anorexic and exercise addict. No one''s picked up on this yet, they have no idea. It''s not just fat people who burden the health care system. And until they figure that out, I''ll take what I can get.

[flipantflaw]

'' ... the media loves to make a living reporting lots of peoples hardships, yet people don''t have one of those grocery / conveinence / restaurant relationships with their market share providets ... folk seeking marketshare must get killed in a conspiracy or must behave in some socalled extreme embarassmant fashion in order to attain any scraps of major media attention ... that or pay a fortune scarcely any can afford ... and even then you best not be some lazy naked ignorant profane blemished promiscuous child wishing for a less cruel world ... ''

'' ... 90,000 countys of 90,000 folk, 90,000 networks of 90,000 folk, 300 villages of 300 folk, 300 channels of 300 folk, 20 homes of 20 folk, 20 sites of 20 folk, 5 folk around each of 4 sick beds ... ''

'' ... how bright to not only invest in trillion dollar baby raping warfare to save one''s own babys, but then to admit it to the masses whos babys got raped in the trillion dollar baby raping warfare ... ''

'' ... full disclosure is not an issue, unless there is an absence of marketshare where and when full disclosure becomes quite the putrid eyesore ... ''

[cdegolier]

They did it to the smokers it''s only fair to do it to the obese.

[enriquecaliente]

Insurance: A license to steal.