Summary

Original source:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=20299

Details

• Two newspapers recently examined efforts by employers and health plans to control health care costs by offering incentives to workers and members.
• The Boston Globe on Thursday examined consumer-directed health plans, "the next new thing employers and insurers are pushing" to help reduce health care costs.
• Such health plans are intended to increase members' involvement in health care decisions by increasing their awareness of the cost of health care services and offering incentives for controlling health care costs along with higher out-of-pocket expenses than other health plans.
• About one million of the 160 million U.S. residents with employer-based health coverage currently are members of consumer-directed health plans, and a Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted last year found that half of all employers with 5,000 or more workers said they likely would introduce such health plans as an option for health care coverage in the next two years.
• PacifiCare pays about $15 every two weeks to workers who report healthy eating habits and exercise in an online diary and offers rewards for participation in classes to stop smoking or to manage chronic diseases.
• Soon, those that don't do this may have to pay more or risk a penalty."
• However, some workers rights groups have said these programs violate workers' privacy rights.
• Mark Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, said penalties would be "a tax that some of the lower-paid workers perhaps can't afford" (Eunjung Cha, Washington Post, 2/20).

Related Articles

Popular Topics: Health, Employers, Employees, Diabetes, Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Heart disease, Depression, High cholesterol, Osteoporosis, Vaccines, Autism, ADHD, Infertility, Weight loss, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Trans fats, Acrylamides, Fluoride, Mercury	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/005451_health_employers_employees.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/005451_health_employers_employees.html">Employers curbing health insurance costs by encouraging employees to take charge of their own health</a>
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber! Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more. Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.	Your Email Address: Free Subscription Code: Enter the numbers you see: 100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime. Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.
Recommended Special Report: Seven Words that can Change the World by Joseph R. Simonetta Read this special report now... "Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com	More on NaturalNews.com: • Streaming Health Ranger Videos • CounterThink Cartoons • FREE Special Reports • Podcasts