Worthy Eating, Safeway, and Discounts on Health Insurance

Oh dear, I just can’t work up enthusiasm for this kind of program. Do we really want our employers monitoring what we eat?  Do we really want our health insurance programs linked to our lifestyle?  That’s a real slippery slope.  Tobacco first, then food, then what? Skiing?  Driving?

Remember the Sociological Department that Ford instituted for his employees in 1914.  He had 250 people who checked the employees: unmarried men under twenty two,  married men living by themselves or involved in divorces, anyone taking in male boarders, frittering away evenings, sending funds back to Europe, spending money foolishly, drinking alcohol or speaking a language other than English was “unworthy.” Of course the worthy had their wages doubled, a pretty big incentive. Safeway’s only offering discounts on health insurance.  

“Safeway plans to offer hearty premiums to healthy workers”

“US shoppers could find their health insurance premiums being linked to their food-buying habits, if an innovative initiative by a leading supermarket wins acceptance. Safeway, which operates over 1,700 supermarkets across the country, says it plans to offer its employees discounts on their health insurance if they participate in a service that tracks the nutritional quality of the food they buy at its stores. Safeway’s proposals would be linked to the retailer’s online FoodFlex service, launched in November as an offshoot of its loyalty card programme. Participating customers are invited to provide details of their family members, how active their lifestyles are, and whether they have specific health issues. The system uses the information on their Safeway card to
deliver a nutritional analysis of their purchases at the store, rated against USDA recommended consumption levels of 25 nutrients and vitamins.”
from full story at:
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/15a25300-c7c2-11dc-a0b4-0000779fd2ac.html

Thanks to Lauren Swann who posts on the ASFS listserv, an interesting and lively forum.

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