I've posted here before about the trend toward increasingly assertive wellness programs as an approach to managing health care costs, including this post on the wellness-based incentives being used by some organizations. A post titled Brave New Medical World in yesterday's "The Informed Reader" blog of the Wall Street Journal profiles one organization -- Scott's Miracle Gro Company -- that has taken wellness management to a new extreme.
Some anecdotes from Scott's wellness campaign:
- A "health coach" at Scotts keeps on pestering a 48-year-old executive to go to the doctor, even though he's trim and a triathlete. She has noticed he has high cholesterol. When he finally gives in, an angiogram reveals he is about five days away from a massive heart attack. Two stents save his life.
- A Scotts health coach and diet expert help one fork-lift driver lose 137 pounds. He hasn't been to a clothing store in 15 years. When he tries on a pair of Wrangler jeans in a Kohl's store, he weeps.
- Scotts hires a third party to manage the wellness program, to avoid having managers discriminating against employees based on their health.
- Scotts builds a $5 million fitness center that not only has a gym, but also two doctors, a dietitian, a counselor, and a drive-thru for free prescription drugs.
- In the office; "gym rats earn special pins they display on ID badge lanyards; these have become a coveted status object."
- Health coaches give employees with a risky medical profile an action plan. If the employees don't follow it, they have to pay an extra $107 a month for medical benefits. The company has found punishing the unfit is more effective than giving them incentives to get better. "We tried carrots. Carrots didn't work," says the company's benefits chief.
- Mr. Hagerdorn <CEO> "took it upon himself to motivate employees. He walks around campus joking, slapping guts, and exhorting people to work out."
- On his 30th birthday, Scott Rodrigues is fired from Scott. "You failed your drug test," his boss explains. The drug is nicotine. He is the only employee to be fired for taking nicotine and is now suing the company.
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