Survey of major employers finds many employees have ‘no motivation to stay healthy’ -
Bruce Japsen / Chicago Tribune

Chicago — The new health care legislation soon will require insurers and employers to fully cover preventive services for workers. But the challenge may be to get employees to take advantage of the benefit, according to a new study.
The Midwest Business Group on Health said workers are not using preventive care programs as much as they should despite an emphasis by large corporations in recent years on wellness.
A key tenet of the health overhaul legislation will require health plans to cover preventive services by eliminating cost-sharing, such as co-payments or deductibles for services. For example, employees who fork over a $10 co-payment for a blood pressure, diabetes or cholesterol test won’t have to do so after the law kicks in Sept. 23.
The law will bring more no-cost vaccines, flu shots and screenings to millions of Americans who are not already getting them free from their employers, observers say, but that won’t solve the problem of getting people to use the services.
“Employers have rolled out these programs, but people don’t take advantage,” said Larry Boress, president and chief executive of the Midwest Business Group, a national coalition representing more than 100 employers that spend more than $2.5 billion on health care benefits.
The group’s research shows 88 percent of workers lack an understanding of the value of preventive services and more than half, or 56 percent, say they have “no motivation to stay healthy.”
The study includes responses from some of the nation’s largest employers, including Abbott Laboratories, Boeing Co. and Kraft Foods Inc.
Many companies offer incentives for workers to participate in wellness programs or get regular checkups. Such strategies, employers say, can work to lower companies’ overall costs and keep premium increases lower.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100820/BIZ/8200349/1022/local/Workers-ignore-preventive-care-benefits#ixzz0×9jZ8oiI

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