The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Board last week approved a plan that will require state employees who are obese or have health problems to make progress to address those issues or pay a monthly charge for health insurance, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Under the plan, state employees must undergo a health screening at no cost by January 2010 or pay a $25 monthly charge for health insurance, which all workers currently receive at no cost. In the event that the screenings find serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, state employees will have one year to visit a physician at no cost, enroll in a wellness program or take steps on their own to improve their health. In the event that follow-up screenings do not indicate progress, state employees will have to begin to pay the monthly charge in January 2011. The board will consider state employees with a BMI of at least 35 obese. The board has not determined the amount of progress that state employees will have to make to avoid the monthly charge.
According to William Ashmore, executive director of the insurance board, the plan will cost an estimated $1.6 million next year for screenings and wellness programs but likely will result in significant savings over the long term. Ashmore said that individuals with a body mass index of 35 to 39 account for $1,748 more in annual health care costs than those with a normal BMI of less than 25.
Board member Robert Wagstaff said, "We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health." Mac McArthur -- executive director of the Alabama State Employees Association, the union that represents state employees -- called the plan "positive," but workers criticized the plan as unfair (Rawls, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/24).
Editorial
Summaries of two editorials about the plan appear below.