So my employer is demanding a "health screening" to be insured in 2008.

[onions!]

Not the insurance carriers mind,just my employer.

I've already made my position known to the boss that-as long as my insurance company doesn't require it-I'm not interested.

As I'm single,coverage w/a decent HMO has always been something I've splurged(?) on.The test is only supposed to be for the el cheapo insurance.We were told that it would have no effect on the coverages from the HMO.

The reason given for the test is that the el cheapo insurance will be better able to tailor the policy for our company.Since they raised rates & copays & lowered coverage maximums it sounds more like a reason to do the same in certain,targeted areas.

I understand the logic of this for the company.Being self insured they want to shovel the max on to the employees shoulders.

They require measurements for height,weight,BMI,chloresteral,& blood pressure.

If I choose to be insured in 2008(grrr) I'm thinking of a jog around the building along w/a couple bottles of Mountain Dew & a couple of Snickers about an hour before the test.

I really cannot express the anger I feel @ what I see is an invasion of my privacy.

This isn't a pre employment physical.
This isn't being done by my physician.
The only assurance of privacy is from the incompetant HR guy.

[Manedwolf]

Wonder if that runs afoul of any anti-discrimination laws.

[Paddy]

This kind of crap is becoming de rigueur for these corporate bastiches as they continue to shift income  away from the working middle class to the already wealthy.  Unfortunately, I don't know anything you can do about it.  Refuse and they could fire you for some other bogus reason.

Of course, a single payer healthplan would end this particular ripoff.  But that ain't gonna happen either since our government is owned by corporate (including insurance companies) interests.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

This kind of crap is becoming de rigueur for these corporate bastiches as they continue to shift income  away from the working middle class to the already wealthy.

Health insurance is a benefit given to employees in addition to their compensation.  It doesn't profit the employer, it costs them!

Of course, a single payer healthplan would end this particular ripoff.  But that ain't gonna happen either since our government is owned by corporate (including insurance companies) interests.

 
If corporations controlled the government, I don't think they would choose double taxation for themselves.

[RoadKingLarry]

Health insurance is a benefit given to employees in addition to their compensation.  It doesn't profit the employer, it costs them!

Benefits like health insurance are not in addition to compensation, they are part of the compensation. A reduction in benefits or an increase in premiums is a reduction in compensation. (that measn a "pay cut")

[Manedwolf]

Personally, I'd look for another employer.

If they want to act like that, they'll lose all their talent, and go under.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Health insurance is a benefit given to employees in addition to their compensation.  It doesn't profit the employer, it costs them!

Benefits like health insurance are not in addition to compensation, they are part of the compensation.

The way the phrases are used at my company is "compensation" is salary and "total compensation" is salary plus benefits.  But I suppose your defintions are more common so I should have said that in my previous post.

A reduction in benefits or an increase in premiums is a reduction in compensation. (that measn a "pay cut")

My response was from the employer's perspective, since MCRiley implied that the company was making money when in fact they are (or should be) just passing along the costs.

Not that I wouldn't be angry if I were in the position of the original poster.

[RevDisk]

Health insurance is a benefit given to employees in addition to their compensation.  It doesn't profit the employer, it costs them!

Really?  Here we see it as part of our pay package.  They pay a portion, we employees a portion.  As an employee and as a stockholer, I approve of this cost.  First is, I like healthy coworkers with healthy families.  Cuts down on germs being passed around.  Secondly, they tend to be more productive than unhealthy coworkers wondering if their kids will survive on charity. 

I wouldn't work for any place that did not offer healthcare options.  For the above reasons, plus I gather they would not treat their employees well in general. 

[Sindawe]

Have you done a cost/month analysis of the "health insurance" that the company pitches in on vs. the monthly cost of your healthcare?  I did and found it to be more cost effective for me to obtain coverage on my own with a high deductible (good health, so my only costs are annual physicals & bi-annual dental exams).

[K Frame]

Whiz on the HR man's desk and say "Here's the urine sample you requested."

[Bogie]

I suspect that those who don't comply will go on the short list for the next round of layoffs.

Those who do comply, and whose profiles show genetic markers for other illnesses will also go on the short list.

[Manedwolf]

BTW, BMI is a totally flawed piece of idiocy.

Someone who is solid muscle, a walking brick, might still come up with a BMI of "too high" for their height!

[Standing Wolf]

Personally, I'd look for another employer.

Amen. Lots of employers seem to believe they own employees. Sad to say, lots of people seem to want nothing more than to be taken care of by paternalistic and/or maternalistic organizations.

[onions!]

Just for fun I asked the HR guy "If you want a health screening to determine how best to tailor the companies insurance plan then why aren't all the participants being screened?".He looked @ me like "huh?".

I asked him "there are about seventy people insured here,right"."Yes.""the overwhelming majority are married men over 40?""Yea,so?"
"What about the wives?"Women over 40 are likely to be so much healthier than their husbands that their stats don't matter?I'm sure that none of the(dozens) of kids have any problems too?Right?"blank look

"Or is it that women just don't matter?"With that last bit he went from blank/stupid to uncertain/pissed.Kinda funny.

I then asked him what kind of conclusions he thought could be made from a test that includes less than half of the participants & is divided by gender?When I said the words "breast cancer","womans' plumbing stuff",& "heart disease" he stuttered(he does this when he's called out on anything) & walked away.

FWIW,I'm going to let them have their test.Right now it's too much hassle to go job hunting.I'm really hoping to have the house up for sale in another month so I can move out of the state.

'course I've decided not to give notice when I quit.A small thing maybe,but it goes against the principles I was raised with.Such a rebel.

[Sergeant Bob]

Well, it was probably not the HR guy's idea. He's likely just the poor stiff who got stuck with the dirty work.

[onions!]

Well, it was probably not the HR guy's idea. He's likely just the poor stiff who got stuck with the dirty work.

I agree to a point.The fact that he didn't explain the who,what,& why of the test-along w/the fact that,as the company controller(main job),he's a proven track record of un-reliability.Well,the guy just can't be counted on to tell the truth & to follow through w/anything.He's one of those people that,when you tell someone that they have to see him,you get a wince as a response.

The GM loves him though.That worthy cannot handle confrontation at all.

[Scout26]

Of course, a single payer healthplan would end this particular ripoff.  But that ain't gonna happen either since our government is owned by corporate (including insurance companies) interests.

Yep, that's what I want, Health care provided by the same people that brought you the TSA, Homeland Security, BATFE, etc.......

[Firethorn]

Of course, a single payer healthplan would end this particular ripoff.  But that ain't gonna happen either since our government is owned by corporate (including insurance companies) interests.

Yep, that's what I want, Health care provided by the same people that brought you the TSA, Homeland Security, BATFE, etc.......

I'd argue that simply separating health care and your job would do the same.  As a bonus, that would have saved my parents a lot of paperwork the last few years, maybe.  Mom was on a plan through her work, dad was on a different plan through his work.

Unless, for some reason, my parents decided to go to different companies/plans to save money/customize coverage, they would have been able to get a family plan for not much money.

In addition, they would have been able to keep the same health care coverage through 5-6 job changes.

[Bogie]

More than likely,the HR dweeb who thought the mess up doesn't really know beans about statistics. And didn't consider non-workers who were insured. Typical.
 

[MechAg94]

I think I would just like to separate "Health Insurance" from "Health Benefits".  I think the problem is that people want "health plans" that pay all the costs rather than just covering emergencies or big costs.  You hear people complain about not having good enough health coverage when what they are really saying is that they want someone else to pay more of their medical costs. 

[mtnbkr]

I wouldn't work for any place that did not offer healthcare options.

I would prefer to not get healthcare from my current company and get the money they spend on it instead.  That way, I could afford to buy the healthcare I want rather than grudgingly accept what is offered to me.

Then again, if we all shopped for and paid for healthcare like so many other services we use, we might not be in the bind we're in now...

Chris

[Waitone]

Prepaid medical expense is not insurance.

Insurance companies have ceased spreading risk and are now actively trying to exclude risk.  Again, not a characteristic of insurance.

Tying medical care to employment is a really neat way to control people. 

One of the expenses that just disappears when a US company moves production to China is medical costs.  Right off the top.  Meanwhile the idiots who make the asanine rules get a really sweet insurance plan the likes of which most useless eaters never see.

[Paddy]

The problem with employer provided health insurance is that when you lose your job (and you will), you also lose your health insurance.  Sure, you can get COBRA coverage for awhile (eighteen months?) but the premiums are outrageously excessive-way over and above what your employer paid for the same coverage.

If you want health insurance, you're stuck with purchasing an individual or family policy-and it will be expensive.  You can bring down the premiums a little with a high deductible, but you're still paying them with largely after tax dollars.

There has to be a better way.

[roo_ster]

BTW, BMI is a totally flawed piece of idiocy.

Someone who is solid muscle, a walking brick, might still come up with a BMI of "too high" for their height!

I used to be that guy: bodybuilder/powerlifter and step-aerobics beast.  Yet, I was told to lose 40 lbs.