Prevention Matters

Partnership for Prevention President Robert J. Gould told National Journal that more science is needed to properly evaluate workplace wellness incentives that base employees' insurance rates on their individual health status.

Gould's comments were included in an article by Julie Kosterlitz on proposed legislation that lets employers offer workers discounts of as much as 50 percent for meeting specific health goals, such as smoking cessation, obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol. That would change a 1996 law that forbids discrimination by group health plans against workers based on their health status.

"Some leaders in the field of wellness and prevention have chosen not to endorse proposed legislation to change the 1996 law," Kosterlitz writes. 'We need more information before we can jump in and support this,'" said Rob Gould, president of Partnership for Prevention, an organization of businesses, nonprofits and governemnt agencies that advocate wellness. 'There are some case examples presented by companies, but it's not the kind of systematic evaluation' the group needs to satisfy its concerns.'"