A Choice for Employees: Get a Health Screening or Pay an Extra $600

CVS Caremark employees with company health insurance are being asked to take a free health screening—for basic metrics such as weight, body fat, blood pressure, and glucose levels—or have their premiums increase by $50 per month ($600 annually). In other words: Get examined or pay up.

Fair? A growing number of companies have similar programs, including Bloomberg, which owns this site. CVS Caremark said in a statement that “79 percent of large employers have health assessments incorporated into their programs.” By making employees aware of their numbers, the company hopes to encourage healthier habits—and ultimately reduce overall health-care costs. “It is an incentive to receive the lower premium,” CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis wrote in an e-mail.