Wellness Programs – Healthcare Economist

Are wellness programs legal?

2015-11-19Jason ShafrinLeave a comment

A post at The Incidental Economist considers the issue: Workplace wellness programs discriminate. That’s what they do. Employees who adhere to a wellness program pay less for their coverage; those who don’t pay more. Wellness programs thus clash with federal rules that generally require employers to treat their employees even-handedly, regardless of health status. The…

Do Weight Loss Wellness Programs work?

2015-02-222015-02-22Jason ShafrinLeave a comment

In short, ‘no’. At least that is the conclusion reached by a recent AJMC paper that looks at the evidence available for employer-sponsored wellness programs. The authors write: American corporations continue to expand wellness programs, which now reach an estimated 90% of workers in large organizations, yet no study has demonstrated that the main focus…