Providing employees with free medical screenings is nothing new, but for the first time Missouri State University is linking such tests to health insurance premiums.
?The whole purpose is for the health and wellness of our employees,? said Earle Doman, vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
?We are self-insured,? Doman said. ?The healthier our population is, the better it is to mediate the costs.?
The university is asking its employees to complete a medical screening in exchange for $20 off of their monthly insurance premium. Test results have no bearing on one?s eligibility for the discount.
The incentive program is voluntary. The screening collects personal biometrics such as cholesterol and blood sugar levels, blood pressure, heart rate and Body Mass Index.
The program has touched off a small-scale debate, said Terrel Gallaway, chair of the Faculty Senate.
Some people strongly support the collection of biometrics, as they believe they should not foot medical bills for those with unhealthy lifestyles, Gallaway said.
However, others are concerned about privacy issues and are worried the test is the beginning of more controls to come, Gallaway said.
One of the critics is David Romano, associate professor of political science, who recently penned an editorial in which he argued such wellness efforts are eroding personal liberty as they try to preach certain lifestyles.
If the university can ask about one?s tobacco use and take biometrics, could it one day also ask for one?s use of helmets, preference for extreme sports or food choices for the sake of managing healthcare costs? he asked.
Lance Luria, vice president and medical director of Mercy Health and Wellness, said group health insurance provided through employers is not an inalienable right.
When health care costs are soaring, employers have to control their costs or lose the ability to provide the benefit, Luria said.
Wellness programs are based on current literature that believes unhealthy food, inactivity, smoking and stress are major health risk factors.
Biometrics can help identify potential problems, Luria said.
St. John?s Health in Springfield is part of Mercy, and the health system has for years offered medical screenings at no cost to its employees, said Marilyn Hill, administrative director of corporate health and wellness.
But whether an employee takes the test or not has no direct relation to his or her premium, Luria said.
?There is no incentive to do it or dis-incentive not to do it,? he said.
CoxHealth has a similar practice.
A voluntary wellness program has a full panel of blood work so the employee can know about their numbers but it is not tied to employee health insurance, said Stacy Fender, spokeswoman for CoxHealth.
At Missouri State, Romano said the wellness program is coercive because of its power to award incentives or dole out penalties.
The discount in health premium, if not received, can be seen as a penalty imposed on employees who refused to comply with the new directives, Romano said.
?It?s an evasive health plan,? Romano said. ?It?s a management policy that hasn?t been thought through. That?s why we made noises.?
Gallaway said some employees have found the incentive alluring.
The university not only offers $20 off of one?s monthly health premium but also a $25 gift card or a 3-month free membership to the university?s recreation center and chances to win prizes, including iPads.
The monthly health premium for an MSU employee is $30, but an employee can pay nothing, as he or she gets another $10 off if he or she is a non-smoker or plans to participate in a tobacco cessation program.
On a recent Wednesday morning, political science professor Dennis Hickey took his biometrics at the university?s health center.
?It doesn?t bother me,? Hickey said. ?Why would it bother me? I don?t smoke. I don?t drink. I just eat too much.?
Debbie Donnellan, an executive assistant, said she appreciated the free screening.
?It?s a great thing for employees,? she said. ?It?s free, and you get information about your health.?
Knowing the risks
At Taylor Health and Wellness Center, Sheila Bowen, coordinator of employee wellness programs, explained why the university is introducing the new program this year to encourage employees to take biometrics.
In the past several years, an MSU employee could receive the discount through a health risk assessment.
?The assessment piece of it is somewhat subjective,? Bowen said. ?Biometrics are objective.?
Said Burnie Snodgrass, director of Taylor Health and Wellness Center on campus: ?It provides a new level of knowledge.?
A person is more likely to take action once they are informed about their health conditions, Snodgrass said.
The screening has already revealed crucial, possibly life-saving, information to some MSU employees, said David Muegge, a physician at Taylor health center.
About a dozen MSU employees have discovered they have diabetic conditions through the screening, Muegge said.
Privacy concerns
When the incentive program was first rolled out at MSU several weeks ago, the university wanted the biometrics to be taken only at the university?s health facility.
That quickly drew concerns over privacy.
?Getting employees tested is a good idea. I can see the logic of it,? Romano said. ?But why does MSU need the information??
Health information should be between an individual and his or her doctor, Romano said.
University officials have assured its employees that Taylor is a fully-accredited medical facility that must abide by all privacy regulations.
The personal health information of MSU employees is confidential, university officials said.
But the university agreed to step back after a public forum on Sept. 8.
This past Monday, the university?s highest executive body ? the administrative council ? debated whether the biometrics must be collected at the university, Doman said.
Tuesday, Interim President Clif Smart sent out a campus message saying the university would accept a statement from a physician?s office as proof that an individual?s biometrics have been taken.
An employee with such a statement is eligible for the same $20 discount, Smart wrote.
The change has pleased Romano.
?I am glad,? said Romano, who commended Smart for the change.
The university has no interest in an employee?s individual biometrics but feels it is important for MSU workers to know their own health numbers, Snodgrass said.
?Let people be informed of their health risks,? Snodgrass said of the primary goal of the biometrics program.
Article source: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110918/NEWS04/109180365/1007/NEWS01/?odyssey=nav%7Chead
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Source: http://medicaltips.biz/2011/09/18/msu-links-medical-screen-to-insurance-premium-springfield-news/
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