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Forget the Carrots; Companies Trying Sticks to Improve Unhealthy Behaviors

Source: New York Times, November 16, 2011

Two recent surveys show that an increasing number of employers—including major US employers such as Home Depot, Walmart, and PepsiCo– are raising health insurance premiums for employees who smoke, are overweight, or otherwise fail to meet certain health criteria. Kevin Volpp noted that such penalties could have harmful unintended consequences. For example, as others noted, those who have to pay a higher premium may forgo health insurance altogether.