By Associated Press
Montgomery AL – Alabama state employees who are obese or have three other health problems will eventually have to pay extra for health insurance if they don't try to control them.
The State Employees' Insurance Board voted Wednesday to start charging state workers $25 per month, starting January 2010, if they don't have free health screenings.
If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, then employees will have one year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they do and show progress in a follow-up screening, they won't have to pay the $25 a month. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011. The board hasn't yet decided how much progress employees must make to avoid the charge.
"We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health," board member Robert Wagstaff of Montgomery said.
No one showed up at the meeting to complain about the charge.
Executive Director William Ashmore said the State Employees' Insurance Board will spend an extra $1.6 million next year on medical screenings and wellness programs, but there should be significant savings in the long run from reducing strokes, renal failure and other expensive medical conditions.
Ashmore said the program's research shows that someone who is obese with a body mass index of 35 to 39 generates $1,748 more annually in medical expenses than someone with a normal body mass index of 25 or less.
Currently, most Alabama state employees pay nothing for personal health insurance coverage and that won't change in the new fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Smokers must pay $24 monthly, which will go up $1 in the new fiscal year.
Ashmore noted that since the smoking charge was approved four years ago, the percentage of state employees who smoke has declined from 22 percent to 19 percent a healthy trend he expects to show up in the new program.
James Zervios, spokesman for the Obesity Action Coalition in Tampa, Fla., a group that fights obesity, said Alabama's $25 monthly fee might be positive reinforcement for some, but not others.
"Some people may be annoyed by it and say I'm not going to do anything. It depends on the person," he said.
Many state employee insurance plans offer wellness programs to try to get workers to lose weight or stop smoking. But Alabama is among a small group of states using monthly financial incentives to try to get state workers to be healthier.
Sharon Dickerson, executive director of Arkansas' Employee Benefits Division, said employees can save $10 per month for themselves and $10 for their spouse by taking health risk assessments and pursuing healthier lifestyles. She said the discounts have helped the program hold down its costs.
Ron Meyer, director of Missouri's Consolidated Health Care Plan, said state employees can save $12 per month by getting health assessments and participating in wellness programs. That will go up to $15 next year because the incentive appears to help hold down costs.
He said he is confident the state is saving more in medical costs than it is spending on screenings and wellness programs.