My employer just announced a new wellness program and says it will charge me more for my health insurance if I don’t participate. Why?
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s study of 2014 health benefits found that almost all large employers (those with 200 or more employees) and nearly three-fourths of smaller employers that offer health benefits also offer wellness programs. Some of the programs give you access to free services, such as weight-loss programs, on-site exercise facilities (or gym membership discounts), smoking-cessation programs, nutrition classes, flu shots and wellness newsletters.
More than one-third of the large employers (and 18% of small employers) provide a financial incentive for employees to participate, by reducing health insurance premiums or deductibles, making contributions to participants’ health savings accounts, or offering gift cards, cash or merchandise.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The rewards can be big: Nearly one-third of the employers that provide a financial incentive for completing (not just participating in) a wellness program offer a maximum of $500 or more. Likewise, more than half the large firms offer employees a financial incentive to take a health risk assessment, and more than one-third offer a maximum reward of more than $500. Others rely on a stick rather than a carrot; 7% of the large firms that offer health risk assessments penalize employees who are found to have health risk factors but don’t complete a wellness program.
Nearly half the employers offering biometric screening to measure cholesterol, blood pressure, stress or nutrition give employees $500 or more for participating, and 8% bestow financial rewards or impose penalties based on outcomes (such as meeting a target body mass index or managing cholesterol levels).
You’re likely to see even more emphasis on wellness benefits in 2015. The National Business Group on Health found that 46% of large employers plan to make contributions to employees’ HSAs based on completing a wellness or education program (up from 30% in 2014), and 13% plan to make contributions based on progress towards a health goal. See What to Expect From Your Health Insurance in 2015 for more information. Keep these incentives in mind when picking your plan and making other health-care decisions during open enrollment this fall.
-
Take Charge of Retirement Spending With This Simple StrategyTo make sure you're in control of retirement spending, rather than the other way around, allocate funds to just three purposes: income, protection and legacy.
-
Here's How To Get Organized And Work For YourselfWhether you’re looking for a side gig or planning to start your own business, it has never been easier to strike out on your own. Here is our guide to navigating working for yourself.
-
Credit Report Error? They All Mattercredit & debt Don't dismiss a minor error. It could be the sign of something more serious.
-
Insurance for a Learning Driverinsurance Adding a teen driver to your plan will raise premiums, but there are things you can do to help reduce them.
-
529 Plans Aren’t Just for Kids529 Plans You don’t have to be college-age to use the money tax-free, but there are stipulations.
-
When to Transfer Ownership of a Custodial Accountsavings Before your child turns 18, you should check with your broker about the account's age of majority and termination.
-
Borrowers Get More Time to Repay 401(k) Loans
retirement If you leave your job while you have an outstanding 401(k) loan, Uncle Sam now gives you extra time to repay it -- thanks to the new tax law.
-
When It Pays to Buy Travel Insurance
Travel Investing in travel insurance can help recover some costs when your vacation gets ruined by a natural disaster, medical emergency or other catastrophe.
-
What Travel Insurance Covers When Planes Are Grounded
Travel Your travel insurance might help with some costs if your trip was delayed because of the recent grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes.
-
Ways to Spend Your Flexible Spending Account Money by March 15 Deadline
spending Many workers will be hitting the drugstore in the next few days to use up leftover flexible spending account money from 2018 so they don’t lose it.
