In an effort to tame rising health insurance costs for employees, companies are giving workers the option to work toward improving their own health. Some employers are now asking workers to provide a blood sample or reveal details about their health habits if they are interested in lowering their rates for 2012.

Workers Can Lower Insurance Cost by Improving Their Health

As a part of many 2012 health insurance benefits package options presented this fall, employers are offering their workers the opportunity to lower their premium insurance costs if they can prove theyre committed to improving their health.

Most companies learn of the health issues workers need to improve by having them fill out a health assessment or by participating in a biometric screening, which usually involves body fat measurements and tests for blood-sugar levels and cholesterol.

Those who do receive discounts usually see the difference in their paychecks.

Push for Improved Employee Health Creates Friction

The push to lower insurance costs has not been well received by everyone. More than 600 Indiana University employees signed a petition last fall after expressing concern that the health questionnaire required by the schools program was infringing on their right to privacy.

Companies typically hire a third party to run the programs, so employers usually dont see workers personal health information. Many workers, however, are still concerned that data being shared for this purpose could eventually fall into the wrong hands. At Indiana University, in particular, questions about religious services attended pushed uncomfortable boundaries.

For those who do choose to participate in these types of programs, it appears that the health incentives are working.

According to a 2010 survey conducted by Mercer, a benefits consultant, 11 percent of companies with 500 employees or more who use health risk assessments reduced the amount that workers pay for health insurance coverage if they participated in the assessment a figure that has increased from 7 percent in 2009. Similarly, 22 percent of companies with more than 20,000 employees experienced lower insurance cost in 2010, compared to 15 percent in 2009.

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