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Post by darkduke on Oct 7, 2013 18:13:48 GMT -6
Does anyone else's employer have a mandatory health & wellness plan? My employer was recently informed by our insurance carrier that in order to be eligible for renewal at the end of this fiscal year, the company must establish a health & wellness program that is mandatory for each employee to participate in. Our company has taken it one step further and mandated participation as a condition of continued employment, in addition to penalty fees for someone who is non-compliant (ie: smoker who takes the cessation classes, but refuses to quit smoking). As part of this health and wellness plan, we must meet certain obligations each year which include:
- A yearly physical and blood work
- A yearly cancer screen
- If a smoker, must take part in a smoking cessation class once a year
- If considered obese based on BMI, must attend 1 session per month with a health/nutrition counselor
- If diabetic, must attend a yearly diabetes management course
- Mandatory participation in some sort of physical/wellness activity: sports league, gym membership, etc.
Just was curious if other health & wellness programs are this strict. Also since it's a mandatory part of employment, can fees for these activities be considered out of pocket work expenses on tax returns?
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Post by fudrucker on Oct 7, 2013 18:21:59 GMT -6
I have seen programs, none this strict; If this is mandatory the cost should be paid by the employer and you should be paid for your time while participating in the programs; if you do incur the cost ( and you shouldn't) then yes this would be out of pocket work expense for tax purposes. While encouraging participation in wellness programs to mandate the programs as you describe in order to continue employment is bullcrap and if challenged in court the employer loses; what you need is A Union and a Bargaining contract that spells out the conditions of employment through a mutually agreed upon arrangement.
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Post by father of two on Oct 7, 2013 19:52:51 GMT -6
Ask your union rep or union attorney. If non union, do it or find another job. The company is doing this yo keep their costs down and for the good of the employee.
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Post by greekgod on Oct 7, 2013 20:01:24 GMT -6
Does anyone else's employer have a mandatory health & wellness plan? My employer was recently informed by our insurance carrier that in order to be eligible for renewal at the end of this fiscal year, the company must establish a health & wellness program that is mandatory for each employee to participate in. Our company has taken it one step further and mandated participation as a condition of continued employment, in addition to penalty fees for someone who is non-compliant (ie: smoker who takes the cessation classes, but refuses to quit smoking). As part of this health and wellness plan, we must meet certain obligations each year which include: - A yearly physical and blood work - A yearly cancer screen - If a smoker, must take part in a smoking cessation class once a year - If considered obese based on BMI, must attend 1 session per month with a health/nutrition counselor - If diabetic, must attend a yearly diabetes management course - Mandatory participation in some sort of physical/wellness activity: sports league, gym membership, etc. Just was curious if other health & wellness programs are this strict. Also since it's a mandatory part of employment, can fees for these activities be considered out of pocket work expenses on tax returns? darkduke, Could you contact the insurance carrier your employer provides? It is the "insurance carrier" that would best be able to answer the question. Get back to us with the "insurance carrier's" answers. g |
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Post by OutlawwithaSnipeSniper on Oct 7, 2013 20:26:26 GMT -6
DD, don't worry, it is a "progressive" idea and only implemented for your own good.
That being said, us fat smokers are the ones who never miss work...............
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Post by greekgod on Oct 7, 2013 20:41:43 GMT -6
DD, don't worry, it is a "progressive" idea and only implemented for your own good. That being said, us fat smokers are the ones who never miss work............... Sniper, I thought "darkduke" was asking about his Employer's Plan? Personally, I know "darkduke" and never known him to be a "smoker" and certainly he is not "fat". Shame on you! g |
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Post by chevypower on Oct 8, 2013 0:16:15 GMT -6
Where I work they have a wellness program if you want to consider or not (if so) you save $600.00 a year on you're premium, not a bad savings in a years time..........however they are kind of strict, but not as strict as your job as it sounds.
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Post by father of two on Oct 8, 2013 9:01:56 GMT -6
Every person, after a certain age for a particular exam, should have their colon and prostate checked and breast exams and Pap tests. Wellness can help save a life and you can't put a price on that,
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Post by chevypower on Oct 8, 2013 23:35:43 GMT -6
this wellness program is about losing weight and walking with a pedo meter they want 10.000 steps a day, and you have to call then on a regular basis. and about eating healthy.
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Post by OutlawwithaSnipeSniper on Oct 9, 2013 6:56:44 GMT -6
Every person, after a certain age for a particular exam, should have their colon and prostate checked and breast exams and Pap tests. Wellness can help save a life and you can't put a price on that, Yea, well I can show you a Streatorite who was dammed near dead because they cut his polyps off as a preventative measure. As a matter of fact, they gave him Last Rites at least twice. Yea, if you see an issue, check it out, but this "preventative" idea of removing them "just in case" isn't a smart idea. |
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Post by greekgod on Oct 9, 2013 19:07:17 GMT -6
Every person, after a certain age for a particular exam, should have their colon and prostate checked and breast exams and Pap tests. Wellness can help save a life and you can't put a price on that, Yea, well I can show you a Streatorite who was dammed near dead because they cut his polyps off as a preventative measure. As a matter of fact, they gave him Last Rites at least twice. Yea, if you see an issue, check it out, but this "preventative" idea of removing them "just in case" isn't a smart idea. Sniper, I thought you were a College Graduate. Someone who actually understood that significant statistics trumps "testimonials". Get back to us when you have some real information on "perventative care", other than what happened to "a Streatorite". g |
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Post by longarm on Oct 9, 2013 19:16:44 GMT -6
My employer offered an insurance policy once you got to Medicare. I got a letter on a change because the insurance went up 42% in 2014.
Now they will put in a fixed amount of money and you can pay the difference.
I guess because insurance companies have more costs taking on more people and taking pre existing conditions.
So we need to pay up to have insurance.
Not Good.
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Post by father of two on Oct 9, 2013 19:38:21 GMT -6
Sniper, there are blood and urine tests that also help detect colon and prostrate cancer. For every one bad time there are hundreds of successful exams. Women have breast exams to help detect breast cancer. Should we all stop checking because on one bad time? I had a colonoscopy and they took a couple polyps out of me and I was just fine. My father skipped a year on his prostate exam and went from a 1.5 to 150. The cancer was do far along then that it was downhill from there. Had he done his yearly checkup he could have been treated and gotten a few more years.
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Post by OutlawwithaSnipeSniper on Oct 10, 2013 10:59:10 GMT -6
Greek, bite me.
FOT, I don't have an issue with blood work, I do more than my Dr. asks for, but doing invasive snipping on anyone "just in case" isn't smart in my book.
And it is far from a rare scenario, my BIL had bleeding for far longer than was indicated just a few months ago.
There is a reason far more people die from Doctors mistakes than ever before.
A balance is needed in life.................You aren't getting out alive anyway.
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