There was a fine article in the August 24 edition of Forbes Magazine entitled Healthy Bribes. It asks the question whether companies can save money by paying their employees to do things like stop smoking or lose weight.
When I left my former employer (the mother ship) I had a two Nexium per day acid busting habit. My stomach was eating me alive. I took on a high deductible health plan with an HSA. I changed my eating habits and began a regular exercise routine (now a habit). In addition to losing 30 lbs, I no longer needed the Nexium, a drug which I believe would have cost me a couple grand a year (perhaps someone would like to comment on the retail cost of Nexium).
As for the Forbes article; one example cited the case of a gentleman who, for annual bribes totaling about $300 dollars, was motivated to lose a bunch of weight and keep it off. He changed his diet and began exercising, his cholesterol returned to normal and he was able to kick his “Lipitor habit” to the tune of $1,000 per year. His employer, through its employee “bribery”/wellness program has managed to keep its health care costs flat for the past four years. Not bad when health care costs in the world around them have risen significantly over the past several years.
The jury is still out on healthy bribery in terms of its long term cost savings ability, but as a guy who went from junk food and Nexium to a much healthier lifestyle, the quality of life is better day in and day out. And that’s worth a lot.
People are motivated by all different things. Some by the stick and others by the carrot. As folks are asked to carry more of their health care burden directly, I believe “bribery” programs will prove to have positive long term benefits.
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