Posted on 06/12/2010 1:44:37 PM PDT by libertarian27
BENTON HARBOR - Howard Weyers believes that the bottom line for health care costs depends on what's happening with the waist lines of employees.
Or the lungs, or any other organ that could fail due to misuse or neglect and cost an employer money.
And he believes those employers should be encouraging workers to live healthier lifestyles and aggressively monitoring what they do inside - and outside - of the workplace.
"If we do nothing about personal health, we will do nothing with cost," Weyers, a health benefit consultant based near Lansing, told about 40 people Friday at his seminar at Michigan Works on reducing health care costs. "It all starts with personal health: for you, your spouse and your children."
As the owner of Weyco Inc., a health care consulting company, Weyers started policies that put his employees on notice that they - and eventually their spouses - would have to shape up or ship out. ~snip~ Journalists questioned whether Weyers was taking a "Big Brother" approach toward the health of his employees. ~snip~ His philosophy, he explained to his audience, is "I pay, I say. If you pay, you say." ~snip~ He said the third hurdle to staying healthy is not following a doctor's orders. He had an employee who was diabetic but neglected to take the steps to lessen the effects and had frequent hospital visits. That person was shown the door.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldpalladium.com ...
It will be "We Pay - We Say. You aren't allowed to pay -You can't say"
Do your push ups, drink your prune juice.....
As the owner of Weyco Inc., a health care consulting company, Weyers can do what he damn well pleases and require his employees to practice healthier lifestyles.
Guy sounds like an insufferable jerk.
He is either a fitness nut or a 300 LB plus ball of lard.
Yes, in a perfect world, but when does it stop?
With Nationalized Healthcare it will not stop.
Meet your slippery slope.....
Weyco Nation
Now drop and give me 50
Wow. I personally think it’s fine for an employer to be able to choose and keep employees based on looks. If I ran a store selling weight loss products, for example, I wouldn’t want obese people working for me because it would obviously be bad for business. This, however, goes so far beyond that. He’s doing it because he thinks he can decree “healthiness,” and to extend it to SPOUSES? Sheesh, what a piece of work.
MM (in TX)
According to the article he’s a fitness nut - with bad knees after being an avid runner for years.
He should fire his own butt - why should his company premiums go up for his knee surgery?
NOT when the employees are on their own time in their own homes he can’t.
Well, yes, that would be the Nazi approach (literally). The freedom and market oriented approach would be tort reform, HSA's for everyone, no such thing as an insurance company as we now recognize them, and the death penalty for any politician who even so much as suggested health care regulation.
He’ll probably die in some freak accident totally outside his control.
This guy sure has a lot of time to work out and play. A whole lot more than I do.
Always wondered where all that time came from for jogging and cycling and golfing and, and....
>> “I pay, I say. If you pay, you say.”
What a jackass. Does he also tell his employees how to spend their paychecks? After all, he pays that too. Just as there is no such thing as “government money”, there is no such thing as “employer-paid benefits”. The benefits are part of the compensation package.
Now that does mean that if the cost of the health care goes up, he can choose to not pay for the increase, but he doesn’t own his employees.
This trend towards the government and corporations acting as if the rest of us are feudal serfs has got to end!
“NOT when the employees are on their own time in their own homes he can’t.”
Okay, with that being your view, I guess that you are not in agreement with fellow conservatives that believe that certain companies and organizations may deny employment to gays and lesbians?
“Dave, I’m sure you’re aware of company policy about risks to health, and now that you’re approaching 50, well let me put it to you this way. Either you get younger or I’m afraid we’ll have to let you go.”
“John, statistically, people from your race tend to be short lived, with unacceptably high numbers of early deaths by gunshot wound. And even though you were raised in a good home, and excelled at school, I’m afraid these statistics just say that any day now you are going to be gunned down while selling crack cocaine. So I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go.”
“Mary. What can I say? Women are unhealthy. You’re fired.”
Amazing how many “conservatives” here miss this fundamental moral point. The difficulty is that many owners’ decisions are being forced in this direction by the government, and that is something that people have a legitimate complaint over.
Brilliant!!!
Excellent view of the bottom of the slope - I can see it from here.....
Is this the future of obammacare?
I agree-what ever happened to the freedom to live as we choose?
Please ping me when the federal government dictates to private employers that that they must fire workers who they deem to be living an unhealthy lifestyle.
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