Althouse: What if your employer gave you a Fitbit to wear and reduced your health insurance payments if you racked up the right number of steps?

August 21, 2014

What if your employer gave you a Fitbit to wear and reduced your health insurance payments if you racked up the right number of steps?

"We think the device is easy to use, gets people aware of how little they are walking and helps trigger people to get active.... BP doesn’t see any of the data except in the aggregate."

Yes, but isn't this creepy, the boss making you wear a bracelet that counts your steps? Meanwhile, Fitbit stands to do well if this catches on.

But how do they know who is wearing the device? You could snap that thing onto whichever family member is doing some exercise, including a dog running around in the backyard while you watch TV and eat potato chips.

You'll have to make the damned thing creepier to prevent cheating.

95 comments:

tim maguire said...: I could probably rig something up with bungee cords and a brick. Afterwards I'll make it pretty and sell it to employees whose bosses want to track their out-of-office behavior.

Thanks Fitbit!; 8/21/14, 3:13 PM
Leeatmg said...: This is only the beginning, sadly. My wife is in the HR profession and this year, they plan to require employees and spouses to submit to a 39 point blood screening each year or be faced with 30% higher premiums.

While they have every right to do so as a requirement of providing insurance, they are crossing a line we should all be afraid of crossing.; 8/21/14, 3:15 PM
Paul said...: This is one of the reasons it's absurd to have health insurance through an employer rather than an individual market. It'd be far less creepy for someone to make the personal decision to participate in an insurance savings offer like this, as opposed to having it foisted upon them by a third party.; 8/21/14, 3:16 PM
tds said...: Goodhart's law"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."; 8/21/14, 3:19 PM
Original Mike said...: "You'll have to make the damned thing creepier to prevent cheating."

Give them time. The frog can't be allowed to notice the rise in temperature.; 8/21/14, 3:21 PM
traditionalguy said...: The creepy part this way commeth.

Fitbit is said to be the forerunner product for the new Apple game changer which is a wrist band computer wi-fi that tracks cool wearers everywhere they go.; 8/21/14, 3:26 PM
Christy said...: Smoking has been an insurance factor for as long as I can remember. How is this different? Btw, my doctor's checklist now includes caffeine use. Is this a result of Obamacare?; 8/21/14, 3:27 PM
Peter said...: One can buy machines that will wind the self-winding mechanisms of old watches. If that doesn't work, could you strap it onto the pendulum of one of those fake-pendulum clocks?

I'd expect that designing something that would fool a Fitbit wouldn't be so difficult that one would actually have to pay someone to walk while wearing it.

Is a compliance discount of $1000. from an annual $3,000. out-of-pocket premium different any from a $1000. noncompliance penalty on top of a $2,000. annual premium? Either way, it's $2,000. if you comply and $3,000. if you don't.

Which is to say, an incentive sounds so much nicer than a penalty, but there's really no difference (other than the reference number from which each is calculated).; 8/21/14, 3:34 PM
Birches said...: My spouse's insurance offers cash incentives for their steps program. It's through Virgin, I think. He says some coworkers have given it to their kids to wear.; 8/21/14, 3:41 PM
Rae said...: I find it creepy that the government forces me to avail myself of a private service by law.; 8/21/14, 3:41 PM
Kelly said...: You'd be surprised. I road my bike ten miles with my fitbit on my ankle, it only recorded 1.5 miles so strapping it to the dog probably wouldn't work.

My sis-in-law works for delta dental and they were all given fitbits and put on teams. They have to compete against each other, I don't know what the prize is. My sil who is in great shape, isn't happy about it.; 8/21/14, 3:46 PM
Clayton Hennesey said...: Now Professor Althouse, is creepy really the term to use? Wouldn't it be better to think of it as bringing the prodigal individual back into the health-monitoring embrace of the loving, nurturing hive?; 8/21/14, 3:47 PM
Original Mike said...: Wrap it in a towel to protect it and throw it in the clothes dryer.; 8/21/14, 3:54 PM
Scott M said...: Btw, my doctor's checklist now includes caffeine use. Is this a result of Obamacare?

My kids' doctor's list now includes asking if there are firearms in the house. Talk about creepy.; 8/21/14, 4:00 PM
traditionalguy said...: Meade can always strap his on a dog like a collar. The Insurance company then may refuse him for too much running around and jumping.; 8/21/14, 4:06 PM
Michael in ArchDen said...: #NotMyBossesBusiness

What do you mean that's already taken!; 8/21/14, 4:07 PM
lgv said...: Once someone sets up a website where everyone shares tips for fooling the device and everyone seems to be walking 75 miles per day while having a desk job, the program will be abolished.

Now, the new program will require video recording of your activities 24/7 to verify the steps. How's that for creep factor?; 8/21/14, 4:08 PM
traditionalguy said...: Oh never mind. The Professor already tried that strapping it onto a dog idea.; 8/21/14, 4:08 PM
richard mcenroe said...: I've got a deranged calico that runs the length of the house over and over again. Gets up to about 20 mph. She'd love to wear that.; 8/21/14, 4:09 PM
Be said...: If it were voluntary, I'd not have a problem with it. Kind of cute, and gives folks stuff to work for (especially if prizes are involved).

A few years back, remember talking to a fellow who worked for Virgin, which was trying to break into the Health Insurance market in the States. He was talking all about an incentives program for "prevention."

Unfortunately, was but a salesperson, and really didn't have any answers to my questions of "would people get kicked off the plan despite paying the premiums if they didn't make the grade," "Who decides the program steps: doctors, actuaries, reporting analysts?" and "You're not going to be using BMI as a metric, are you?"; 8/21/14, 4:16 PM
traditionalguy said...: Beating the measurements are the key to the beating any nanny state.

To save the earth from co2, the Spaniards enacted a contract containing a guaranteed price subsidy for solar panel farm developments. It paid them about six times the going rate for producing solar powered electricity.

But the darn solar farms were measured feeding subsidized power onto the electrical grid at night.

Turns out they were running huge diesel Generators at night to cash in on the subsidized rates. What a great idea. They should be given medals instead of punished.; 8/21/14, 4:22 PM
Jim Howard said...: My employer gave us all Fitbits, and Humana gave us an app that we can connect them to.

The Humana app also can track the distance and time that you accumulate while walking, jogging, or riding your bicycle.

If we do enough exercise the insurance rates for the company as a whole may go down.

Apparently some local gyms have their equipment wired up in a such a way that the Humana app can record your activity.

We worker bees get some free stuff if we meet certain goals, stuff similar to you see in the Skymall catalog.

Nobody is forced to participate.

Most people either lost their Fitbits or destroyed them in a washing machine.

I've kept mine by always putting it in a small waterproof super ziploc bag I bought at a truck stop.; 8/21/14, 4:27 PM
n.n said...: There is a similar device for cars, which tracks its habits and compliance.

We could also for go the government mandated "insurance", address progressive inflation caused by a government-backed monopoly and practice, experience the consequences of dysfunctional behaviors first-hand, and acknowledge the risk that follows with the "burden" from conception to death.

Don't people have a right to privacy? To exercise, abort, or whatever in their home, a clinic, etc.?; 8/21/14, 4:32 PM
David said...: Implants. Think implants.; 8/21/14, 4:33 PM
David said...: Paul said...
This is one of the reasons it's absurd to have health insurance through an employer rather than an individual market. It'd be far less creepy for someone to make the personal decision to participate in an insurance savings offer like this, as opposed to having it foisted upon them by a third party.

Right. Because the government doesn't do coercive stuff.; 8/21/14, 4:34 PM
David said...: "My kids' doctor's list now includes asking if there are firearms in the house. Talk about creepy."

Teach the kid to call the police and tell them the doctor is planning to rob his house.; 8/21/14, 4:37 PM
Michael K said...: "Btw, my doctor's checklist now includes caffeine use. Is this a result of Obamacare?"

It's stupid enough to be. Pediatricians are asking kids if there are guns in the house.

I still think this will end with catastrophic insurance and cash medical practices for most doctors. The electronic medical record programs are the canary in the coal mine. They are not worth the time to fill them out.

Garbage in...; 8/21/14, 4:39 PM
John Scott said...: To hell with the swimmers, weight lifters, yoga practioners, cross-fitters, etc.; 8/21/14, 4:40 PM
Sigivald said...: If only health care provision wasn't so tied to a specific employer via incentives (and now, flat out laws)...

Imagine that.; 8/21/14, 4:53 PM
Emil Blatz said...: On the other hand, when I worked for a Fortune 50 corporation nearly 30 years ago in the sleepy little town of Madison, WI, we had an employee who was morbidly obese. How morbidly obese? She was constantly on crutches with a cast on one of her feet, because she was breaking the bones in her feet and ankles (stress fractures) which came naturally from applying that load to her bones as she stood up or merely walked around. I would have guessed she exceeded 400 lbs. If she is alive today, and I doubt it, she has cost her employer some healthy multiple of the cost of an employee of average condition. Should an employer have the ability to dis-incentivize such indulgent behavior (she ate about 11,000 calories at lunch)? Yowsah I sez.; 8/21/14, 4:56 PM
Jake said...: Many employers have already done this with simple pedometers. Very easy to scam. My father-in-law affixed his to a random orbit sander. That racked up thousands of steps in no time.; 8/21/14, 4:57 PM
Be said...: Don't even get me started.

How's about we let people budget and pay for health stuff like they used to do. Honestly, for years, I didn't have Health Insurance, as it was too expensive. Used to talk rates down at my providers considerably, if I paid cash. The discounts were amazing, as cash in hand was more interesting than having to take man hours out of one's day to make an insurance company / the gov't pay.

That's illegal now under Obamacare, I think.

What is with all this funding of middlemen?; 8/21/14, 5:02 PM
jimbino said...: The only sensible path for a freedom-loving person is to eschew all forms of insurance, pay cash for discounted medical care, force docs to sign strict privacy agreements, and go overseas for medical care, if necessary.

I just had cataract surgery in Rio de Janeiro for half price.

Amerikan docs caused the medical-care problem in the USSA and it is fitting that they continue to suffer.; 8/21/14, 5:12 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Paul said...

This is one of the reasons it's absurd to have health insurance through an employer rather than an individual market. It'd be far less creepy for someone to make the personal decision to participate in an insurance savings offer like this, as opposed to having it foisted upon them by a third party.

Just wait until the government has a monopoly on health insurance, and every facet of your life that can affect your health expenses will be a matter of public regulation.

Oh,and every facet of your life that can affect your health expenses? That's every facet of your life.; 8/21/14, 5:17 PM
rhhardin said...: Do you get credit for bike riding.

How about scything the lawn. Those are very tiny steps.

The dog won't work. Dogs aren't active much of the time.; 8/21/14, 5:24 PM
John henry said...: What if an insurance company gave you 10% off your car insurance if you agree to have a monitor in your car? Pretty creepy, right? No different from this and Progressive and other companies are doing it now.

If they are going to pay for your crash or illness, they have the right to make sure you are driving safely and acting healthily.

There is not a smidgeon of doubt in my very liberal mind about this.

Who pays the piper calls the tune.

Only way to get around this is to self-insure, though this is not practical for all but a few people.

Then, once a lot of people have been snookered into the driving monitor/fitbit, try to opt out. "Oh-ho! Will say the insurance company. So you are not planning on driving safely? Perhaps we should not insure you at all."

All strictly voluntary, of course.

And even worse if the govt does it as they can put you in jail if you don't wear your slave bracelet. I mean fitbit.

John Henry; 8/21/14, 5:38 PM
Sydney said...: It may seem like they are rewarding you for doing something good, but what they are really doing is penalizing those who don't walk enough.; 8/21/14, 5:40 PM
AustinRoth said...: what they are really doing is penalizing those who don't walk enough.

And who gets to set those rules? The same idiots that claim a 6' 2" bodybuilder who weighs 245 lbs is "obese", even though his body fat is around 7%?

Or that the "normal" weight for a man that tall is as low as 145 lbs?; 8/21/14, 6:09 PM
Michael K said...: "Used to talk rates down at my providers considerably, if I paid cash. The discounts were amazing, as cash in hand was more interesting than having to take man hours out of one's day to make an insurance company / the gov't pay."

This is risky for them to do as Medicare considers it fraud and insurance companies now have providers (That's doctors to you) all sign contracts, which includes not doing what you suggest.; 8/21/14, 6:14 PM
virgil xenophon said...: The end result of all "progressive" movements
ends inevitably in some form of totalitarianism.

-----Eric Voegelin, Philosopher; 8/21/14, 6:40 PM
John henry said...: Speaking of paying cash:

Walmart is now operating clinics in their stores. As I understand it, they lease space to a group of doctors who work on a walk-in basis. Sort of like their eyeglass clinics.

I have read that most do not accept any insurance other than Walmart employee insurance. Walk in, see the doctor, get treated, pay cash, walk out.

Sounds good to me.

I buy my glasses at Walmart and have been very happy over the past 10 years, 4-5 pair.

I expect that when they open a clinic in my local Walmart, I will use that, too. As little as possible since I hate going to the doctor but it's there if I need it.

John Henry; 8/21/14, 6:41 PM
John henry said...: Megan McCardle says $40 for a doctor visit.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-08/welcome-to-wal-mart-the-doctor-will-see-you-now

John Henry; 8/21/14, 6:43 PM
chuck said...: But how do they know who is wearing the device?

Reminds me of what I learned hitchhiking back in the day. A trucker who picked me up had phony mufflers for better mileage, and a salesman had a box of phony tokens for tolls. The phony tokens were made by a machinist. And of course, the truckers also smuggled cigarettes.

There is an amazing black economy out there, and given the way things are going it isn't getting any smaller. Maybe that's what Krugman is talking about when he hypes the recovery.; 8/21/14, 7:00 PM
retail lawyer said...: Hey, how about disentangling employment from health insurance? No fitbits, no birth control controversies, no nagging at work, less age discrimination; 8/21/14, 8:08 PM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: Never mind any of that. "Number of steps taken" is a useless measurement of anything other than the number of steps you have taken.

It is in no way a predictor for lowered future health costs.

In fact, if your steps are 'running on pavement', you are a much greater candidate for expensive knee and hip replacement, than your typical couch potato.

Correlation is not causation.

It's a stupid, stupid idea.; 8/21/14, 8:15 PM
Be said...: This is going to sound funny, but: Not all of us have access to a Walmart Clinic. (Snort!)

I live nearby to a CVS, though, which, expensive as it is, is cheaper than my local hospital. (Shrug.); 8/21/14, 8:36 PM
Revenant said...: What if your employer gave you a Fitbit to wear and reduced your health insurance payments if you racked up the right number of steps?

I would say "no thanks, I'll pass".; 8/21/14, 8:58 PM
sojerofgod said...: This is why I will never work for a corporation again. ever. In my fantasy about this though I would have to say to the person handing me this, " I need you to let me attach this to you first, so I can understand the mechanism." and then, "Oh look! it's a suppository!"; 8/21/14, 9:53 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: The people most likely to use this are the people least in need of it.
No working health cost saving scheme began by trying to enlist the unhealthy.; 8/21/14, 10:19 PM
n.n said...: Who are these people who discriminate against preexisting conditions (e.g. couch potato syndrome)?

With health care "reform", there is no longer a need for fitness. In fact, in combination with other well-intentioned social policies, there is an incentive to hang on the lowest rung of society and just do what feels good. Perhaps that's where "comprehensive immigration reform" comes into play.; 8/21/14, 10:23 PM
BrianE said...: As I read it, it was optional.
My company did something similar. Gave anyone who wanted a Fitbit, with the proviso that you walk a certain number of steps over a six week period.
It's part of a larger health incentive plan that includes a variety of programs. At the end of the year you receive $800 off your health insurance premiums (if your spouse participates also).
Since the company is self insured, anything they can do to encourage a healthier workforce benefits them.
It's voluntary. And the information is kept by a third party to insure confidentiality.
I think it's a great plan.; 8/21/14, 10:42 PM
BrianE said...: The program works by the honor system.

Yes, folks can cheat the system, but that has no effect on my incentive, which is to try and stay healthy while working a desk job.

And yes, it doesn't reward certain activities.

We just finished a four week incentive that just required activity for a certain number of minutes a week (150).

And yes, probably the people that would benefit the most aren't participating, but I'm sure the company already knows that.

To me, it's just a discount on my premiums-- which seems fair for staying in a basic amount of shape.

I was averaging 18 miles a week until my knee gave out a couple of years ago-- so walking is about all I can do now (OK there is biking, which I've never cared for.); 8/21/14, 10:54 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Couldn't you turn it on in the car as though biking?; 8/21/14, 11:45 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Company insurance liaisons looking over the Fitbit data:

"Janine is always riding her bike to Walmart,the gas station, and her kids' schools."
"I know. She's so dedicated. How do you suppose she gets her kids home on a bike?"
"I dunno. I don't do cycling."; 8/21/14, 11:51 PM
Suz said...: This discriminates against the handicapped. Not all of us are in wheelchairs and frankly my boss is not an MD or even that smart

If employees are to be monitored in any way outside of working hours - they should be paid. Hourly, regardless of miles logged. Fair is fair. If they are "on the clock" and have to account for things - then pay them.

I await the lawsuits.; 8/22/14, 5:53 AM
MaxedOutMama said...: At what point do such measures become discrimination against those with genetic/acquired health problems?

If you have severe arthritis, you are probably not going to be walking 5 miles a day.

Unfortunately, the common belief that everyone will have good blood chemistry if they just "live right" isn't true. There is a substantial minority of the population that have genetics that will give them bad blood chemistry. Some may be able to correct this with medication, some not.

Worse yet, some people who seem to have bad lipids, for example, actually don't - they also have protective genetics that prevent them from blocking up. And some who seem to have good lipids, for example, are actually blocking up. To figure out whether there is a real problem requires other testing before you take the chance of injuring an otherwise healthy person.

There are other mutations that are responsible for those who can develop life-threatening high lipids on a vegetarian diet, for example.

Right now many insurances won't even PAY for the tests needed to figure out what you can do for these people without medically injuring them. That's just lipids. The other stuff is substantially more complicated.

As for the BMI crap, it's a terrible fitness measure. There are very substantial genetic differences in sugar and insulin metabolism, along with vasoconstrictive proteins and receptors, which mean that some people are pretty much doomed to carry around a higher body fat percentage. Whether they are well or ill usually depends on whether they are sedentary or not, but if they try to reach the "right" weight they may make themselves ill.

Employers shouldn't concern themselves with their employees' sex lives, meals off premises or anything that doesn't directly affect their work performance. Rationally, the odds of creating a good outcome from trying to meddle like this for any individual are probably at best about 50/50.

But morally and ethically the proposition is terrible, because the chances of creating bad social outcomes are much higher. The more your employer knows about you, the more your employer will discriminate against you. There's no way to stop it, and it is already common practice.

If the employer is paying for pooled health insurance, weeding out those with certain genetics is an immensely profitable enterprise. They are doing it and will continue to do it. The inevitable result will be discrimination against those of certain ethnic backgrounds, but it would cost millions to prove it.

Of course the companies that would profit off such measures have very high incentives to push them.; 8/22/14, 6:36 AM
MaxedOutMama said...: BrianE - you just explained why this is a bad proposition. As an incentive, it is going to be picked up by those who need it least. However the costs of paying that incentive are going to be spread over the entire employee population. Thus, you will end up charging both couch potatoes (those who could improve their health significantly by lifestyle modification) and those who already have adverse circumstances that are not under their control. This system diverts money from the sick to the healthy.

Because you're right - most people want to be healthy, and will do what they can to be so.; 8/22/14, 6:42 AM
Skyler said...: Tricking the fit it would be insurance fraud and a criminal offense. You will comply, citizen.; 8/22/14, 7:07 AM
Anonymous said...: The Advanced Model will also chart how much time you spend in the bathroom during work hours. Efficiency, people.; 8/22/14, 7:44 AM
Bryan C said...: I'd put it in my electric watch winder. Or maybe inside a hamster ball so the cats can play with it while I'm at work.; 8/22/14, 7:47 AM
Bryan C said...: Seriously, the problem is that employer "incentives" to change personal behavior are really just penalties for those that don't comply: If you don't engage in Behavior X at home to our satisfaction, you will have less money in your paycheck.

Employees quickly realize this, regardless of how management decides to spin it. Frankly, it's not only tempting to game such a ridiculous system, gaming it is the morally correct response.; 8/22/14, 7:56 AM
BrianE said...: "Companies and insurers said they protect the privacy of people using wearable gadgets, and comply with federal laws that prevent employers from seeing certain health information about employees without consent. The wearable programs are voluntary and often administered by third-party vendors like StayWell, which works with BP."

Did I mention this is a voluntary program and administered by a third party, so the company can't see individual health issues-- so the idea the company would use the information to select employees is not an issue.

As to unhealthy people subsidizing my health insurance, since I get a discount for participation in the program, you've got it backwards regarding whose subsidizing whom.

I would couch potatoes get off their virtual couches and take advantage of the program.

In the case of my company the Fitbit walking contests are only a small portion of the total.

Here's how you can qualify for the $400/ person discount:

Submit blood work (company pays for an at-home kit)
Physical (company pays 100% with no copay)
Quit smoking or non-smoking
Various health coaching-- either online or by phone
Healthy eating-- they'll have contests where you earn points by eating from a menu they choose
Various physical activity contests

Even the Fitbit portion only requires walking less than 3 miles a day and that represents 10 weeks out of the year.

I'm kind of surprised that the supposed conservatives would be critical of a voluntary program that uses incentives rather than clubs.

The company has been offering this program for about 8 years, so this is not in response to the ACA.; 8/22/14, 7:58 AM
BrianE said...: Anybody here noticed we have an obesity epidemic in this country, the costs of which are staggering.

I would much rather use this approach than some alternatives I can think of, most of which include the government and regulations.; 8/22/14, 8:01 AM
BrianE said...: And I want to make sure I understand the objections here-- people can cheat so the program shouldn't be offered, because honest people might benefit?

Did I get that about right?; 8/22/14, 8:03 AM
Anonymous said...: The FitMind measures the bad Thoughts you have been thinking. The new woman in accounting with the low-cut tops: your thoughts have been recorded.; 8/22/14, 8:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Did I mention that the new woman in accounting with the low-cut tops also wears pearl necklaces? That isn't even fair. I don't have a chance.; 8/22/14, 8:04 AM
Anonymous said...: The sexy receptionist is on the step-ladder again. In four-inch heels. Must. Stop. Thoughts. Baseball, baseball, baseball...; 8/22/14, 8:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Oh God, the Woman in Estimating Services is eating a banana. Slowly. Damn you, FitMind, can't you just look the other way for a minute?; 8/22/14, 8:14 AM
Anonymous said...: The Woman in Accounting is kneeling by the copier in a short skirt, adding paper in the lower drawer. I am not looking, I am not looking.; 8/22/14, 8:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Every woman in this office has breasts. Many are perky. I must focus on the un-perky breasts.; 8/22/14, 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...: My FitMind says its Memory Card is Full. Now I have to go to HR. The woman in HR wears short skirts. And sits in a swivel chair. Swivel, swivel, leg, leg, leg. I think I am in Trouble.; 8/22/14, 8:21 AM
Anonymous said...: I am having sex with the woman in HR on her desk. No I'm not, that was just a flashing thought. Good to get that one in while she is switching Memory Cards.; 8/22/14, 8:23 AM
Anonymous said...: The woman in Shipping is unattractive to me, but with FitMind I find I am thinking sexual thoughts about her, too. I just want to know when FedEx arrives.; 8/22/14, 8:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Whoever thought that Yoga Pants were acceptable on Casual Friday has a lot to answer for.; 8/22/14, 8:27 AM
Anonymous said...: According to FitMind I have had a cumulative four feet and eleven inches of erection today. Come on, lunch break.; 8/22/14, 8:28 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: BrianE said...

I would much rather use this approach than some alternatives I can think of, most of which include the government and regulations.

If most of the alternatives you can think of involve the government and regulations, you just might be a fascist.; 8/22/14, 8:29 AM
Anonymous said...: I stare at the black woman in the tight dress in Accounting. I do not want FitMind to think I am racist.; 8/22/14, 8:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Four of the Office woman have just returned from lunch, and they are all laughing and smiling. Bouncy. I am allowed to think my own thoughts on lunch break.; 8/22/14, 8:32 AM
Tibore said...: "I'm kind of surprised that the supposed conservatives would be critical of a voluntary program that uses incentives rather than clubs."

What BrianE said. This isn't something that's mandatory for those folks, no one is forced to do it. They just get a benefit for volunteering. Incentivization is not coercion.; 8/22/14, 8:36 AM
Anonymous said...: I accidentally typed 'time clock' as 'time cock' in an email to my female supervisor. This is not as bad as when I typed 'vagina' instead of 'vagaries' in my report. I am not a good typist, I have told you that.; 8/22/14, 8:37 AM
BrianE said...: BrianE said...

I would much rather use this approach than some alternatives I can think of, most of which include the government and regulations.

If most of the alternatives you can think of involve the government and regulations, you just might be a fascist.

I'm a monarchist.; 8/22/14, 8:54 AM
Skyler said...: Wasn't there a song about a company store?; 8/22/14, 8:56 AM
Skyler said...: Tibore: " Incentivization is not coercion."

Yeah, the supreme court says it's a tax.; 8/22/14, 8:58 AM
TIM CARROLL said...: There is a major hospital here in town that makes all their employees wear a device to count their steps and activity. It is tied to medical benefits. Employees even wear it when not on duty.

What is interesting is that I had a job interview with the Legal Department of this hospital and I did not notice the device on any of the interviewers.; 8/22/14, 9:02 AM
Lance said...: Yes, it's every bit as creepy as Japanese taisou.; 8/22/14, 10:11 AM
John Nowak said...: >I road my bike ten miles with my fitbit on my ankle, it only recorded 1.5 miles

I'm not sure if that's really surprising. Making the pedals of a bike go around once will take you a lot further than taking one step. Isn't that the point of a bicycle?; 8/22/14, 10:32 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: BrianE said...
Anybody here noticed we have an obesity epidemic in this country, the costs of which are staggering.

I would much rather use this approach than some alternatives I can think of, most of which include the government and regulations.

A bigger epidemic in this country is the inability or unwillingness to think - to care what the actual reality of any given thing, actually is.

Here, we see poor thinking by the confusing of correlation with causation (exercising more = less obesity).

The massive overeating of carbohydrates, and the phobia against the eating of fat, have been shown to be the real cause, to anyone who cares to find out the truth.

Exercise often just makes carbohydrate eaters eat more carbohydrates. It's not called 'working up an appetite' for nothing.

Take IBM's excellent advice from the 1970's. Think. Reason. Works every time is correctly tried.; 8/22/14, 11:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Or—and I know many people find ideas like this lunatic, racist, and dangerous—how about we sever the connection between employment and health insurance that was created in WWII to work around government price controls on labor, put insurance back on the open market, let insurance companies sell whatever plans people want to buy, and if government wants to see an applicable commerce clause reading in there somewhere, how about "the states can't engage in economic warfare against each other by forbidding out-of-state insurance companies to sell in their state?"

Like I said: lunatic, racist, and dangerous, taking us back to those horrible mid-20th-century years!; 8/22/14, 11:17 AM
Brennan said...: Couldn't I sue my employer for discrimination if I am unable to take any steps at all?; 8/22/14, 11:49 AM
BrianE said...: Here, we see poor thinking by the confusing of correlation with causation (exercising more = less obesity).

Did I mention that the company incentives include eating healthier?

While it's possible to lose weight without exercise, it's difficult. Burn more calories than you consume.

Not arguing with what you're saying, but it all works together.

Moderation; 8/22/14, 11:49 AM
Anonymous said...: My company's health insurance provider called me to offer customized health advice for me. I told the caller no. She asked why I did not want advice on being more healthy. I told her what I did not want was to run my life by committee.; 8/22/14, 12:26 PM
Jeff H said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/22/14, 3:08 PM
RightWingNutter said...: I'm looking forward to seeing the lean, fit, and self employed strapping FitBits up and down their arms and stuffed in their pockets, and a T-shirt saying "Will Walk For Cash"; 8/22/14, 3:09 PM
Jeff H said...: There's probably already some 12 year old who's hacked the Fitbit so you can make it read whatever you want it to.; 8/22/14, 3:09 PM
luagha said...: Two words.

Oscillating fan.; 8/22/14, 5:41 PM