Your Privacy

Everyday we make choices about how we live. Sometimes they are healthy and sometimes we choose to ignore conventional wisdom and do what we like. But as health care costs skyrocket, employers are becoming more concerned with what the employees do with themselves. According to industry consultants, companies are looking for ways to reward employees for making positive health choices and seeking to penalize those that do not. Companies would like to make your physical condition their business because it's costing them serious money in insurance premiums.

So why should you, as an employee, care if your company knows your state of health? For starters your right to privacy is guaranteed by HIPAA. Essentially what is between you and your doctor is no one else's business unless you tell them. Even if you do disclose a condition, there are regulations that protect employees against discrimination based upon health or disability. Then how can a company get away with establishing a three-tiered benefits system based upon an optional health checkup? They can't, unless they force you to sign away your rights.

But you're in perfect health, why not opt into the program and pay less for insurance? For starters you could currently be in good health, but say you were to develop type II diabetes, an ailment that can easily be detected. This piece of your personal life is now part of the company record, and identifiable to you. This information could potentially be abused by your employer. Granted, that is not to say that your employer would use such information, but if they did your own remedy would be to bring legal action which can be costly and take a long time.

That being said, I still think it's a great idea to encourage folks to shape up, slim down, and live a little healthier. However, I don't think that will single-handedly solve our health insurance problem. In the search for a solution to spiraling costs, we can't ignore established rules of privacy. Furthermore I think that companies that institute these second-class benefits programs will likely find their collective butts in court. The topic is still too much of a legal gray area, which companies will continue to experiment with until a judge tells them to stop.