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CVS to Force Fitness?

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In a move to inspire workers to improve their health, CVS Caremark pharmacy chain has mandated that employees using its medical insurance plan submit to certain screenings or pay extra for coverage.

The “voluntary” screenings involve doctor-facilitated measures of height, weight, body fat, blood pressure, and glucose and fasting-lipid levels. The first round of screenings took place this past May. The company pays for the screenings, but those opting out are required to pay a $50-per-month surcharge. According to a report from The Boston Herald, collected data will be submitted to CVS’s benefits firm for review. The firm will then aggregate the results and help CVS develop wellness programs based on the findings.

“Our benefits program is evolving to help our colleagues engage more actively to improve their health and manage health-associated costs,” explained CVS spokesperson Michael DeAngelis in a statement printed in The Huffington Post. “An initial step to accomplish this goal is a health screening and wellness review so that colleagues know their key health metrics in order to take action to improve their overall health, if necessary.”

Do you agree with this new practice? Email your feedback to [email protected].


Ryan Halvorson

Ryan Halvorson is an award-winning writer and editor, and IDEA's director of event programming.

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