[red mares]

Just did the benefits thing.

I passed on playing the big brother game with my employer, the one where they put a good chunk of change into my HSA in exchange for personal information.

The way things have gone the last year or so, the money would be nice, but it's just not their business to know what I do outside of the office.

Anyone else willing to not take the $$ in lieu of keeping your personal life private?

[threedogpack]

define personal information.

[Donkaloosa]

I don't do it. They call it the "Wellness" program here, and you have to have a certain number of weigh-ins, they scream and yell if you smoke or have other problems, they want all kinds of info about you that they have no business knowing. We see it as a way to fire you because of your health or what they think could be a problem in the future. It's my life, not theirs.

[red mares]

The wellness programs. Heck on paper, I look pretty good. Reality, I'm a wreck, in good part because I don't just sit on the couch.

I don't think it's any of their business what I do outside of the office. If the insurance rates were based on risk, I would be more inclined to play ball, but here they are strictly based on pay level. They can stick it in their ear.

[Adamantane]

I'm curious, too, what they asked for and what they were willing to pay for your disclosure.

It's pretty hard to do a cost-benefit analysis or determine the present value of unknown consequences entailed by disclosure of lifestyle issues down the road. Somebody will discover that spinach consumption correlates years later to dementia or strokes or some other crazy thing, and suddenly all the spinach-eaters will find themselves in the high-risk pool.

For some reason underwriters don't appear to consider the dangers of equestrian sports or hunting (with a firearm) the same way they do hang gliding and mountain climbing, or they didn't the last time I filled out paperwork for a life or disability income policy.

I found it interesting that when I got some supplemental term life a few years ago, they insisted on a urine screen that deceptively purported to only be for disease markers or outlier clinical chemistry values, but I later from the results printout that they sneakily checked for cocaine metabolites and nicotine metabolites. I smoked cigarettes but had already stated that in the application. Wonder what they would have done if the nicotine had come back negative?

It won't take long before someone gets the bright idea to factor those things in, and all our premiums will rise.

[suz]

i wouldn't participate either.

[threedogpack]

O! Well, if it's a wellness thing, I just tell 'em what they want to hear and let it be done.

[SmartAlex]

We get a discount on our insurance if we do the Wellness questionaire through the insurance co's website.

I've never found it to be particularly intrusive. Mostly height, weight, blood pressure, date of last physical, hours of sleep a night, number of drinks a week, do I/have I ever smoked etc.

For me, well worth the discount.

[Appsolute]

We get a discount on our insurance if we do the Wellness questionaire through the insurance co's website.

I've never found it to be particularly intrusive. Mostly height, weight, blood pressure, date of last physical, hours of sleep a night, number of drinks a week, do I/have I ever smoked etc.

For me, well worth the discount.

This is how mine was as well. A one time survey, I seem to remember you could answer with “I don’t know” on many of the questions. If you didn’t do it, you didn’t get the “discount” (which actually meant, if you didn’t do it, you would have to pay much more in premium).

I already pay $450 a month for my hubby and I as it is, and was not ready to pay more. Took the survey, didn’t find it intrusive.

[gieriscm]

We get a $500 discount off of our annual insurance premiums (works out to $20 per paycheck) for answering the "wellness" questions. Last year was pretty ho-hum, this year they wanted to know height, weight, smoker/non, cholesterol LDL/HDL, and blood pressure.

[SmartAlex]

Yeah, this past year mine wanted cholesterol numbers too. Recently, my physician began printing out summary reports to send home each time which has all the stats. Good for personal record keeping, and came in handy answering the survey correctly.

I have to say I do see a lot of benefit from having medical records become more computerised. Now I just need to get him to email the report to me instead of printing it! Love that we can discuss a prescription and he can key it straight into my mail order pharmacy while we're sitting there.

[tradewind]

Just another step into them intruding on one's personal life. I would take a pass, it is none of their business what I do on my time..another reason I like being self employed.

[2DogsFarm]

I skipped mine last year out of laziness.
This year, from what I can see, it isn't such a huge discount that I care to take their online survey.
They can just MYOB, IMHO

[Adamantane]

Recall something that LBJ said about camels sticking their noses into the tent... Maybe the only thing rightly or wrongly attributed to him with which I agree.

[kathy s.]

I'm in the myob camp. BNSF (Burlington Northern-Santa Fe) attempted to test their employers genetic makeup in order to avoid paying for work related claims of carpal tunnel syndrome. The railroad lost but I promise companies will continue to try to do it.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/4-18-01.cfm

[Coanteen]

$60?