
Workplace Wellness Programs Don’t Work Well. Why Some Studies Show Otherwise - hardtke
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/upshot/employer-wellness-programs-randomized-trials.html
======
ogou
They are also a privacy grab, bypassing HIPAA laws for "voluntary" opt-in
programs. One of the tipping point for the West Virginia teachers strike was a
requirement to wear Fitbits and logging activity to avoid insurance premium
penalties.

"But the one issue that has distressed many teachers, he said, is the Go365,
an addition to the PEIA’s health program.

Beginning July 1, participation will be a requirement as it stands now to
avoid paying more for insurance, according to the West Virginia Education
Association (WVEA).

Go365 requires participants to earn a certain level of points in the program
by May 15 of each year in order to avoid penalties for the following year,
including an additional $500 deductible and a $25 a month premium increase.

Those points are earned by doing things like using a Fitbit (a device worn
like a watch that measures items like the number of steps taken each day) and
logging activities online.

Evans said a person’s waist circumference measurement is also required. “This
is invasive,” he added."

