County eyes $25K cost for employee health screening

[The Straight Story]

SIOUX CITY -- As the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors moves toward creating a wellness program for the county's 400 employees, the panel held off Tuesday on spending $25,000 to offer employees a health screening via blood test.

The county has a wellness committee weighing options to improve the health of employees in an effort to reduce health care costs to the county employee self-funded health insurance fund. During their regular meeting Tuesday, the supervisors heard that Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City could provide a screening to all employees for $25,000.

The screening would show cholesterol levels and other health benchmarks so employees would know if they need to make changes in their lifestyles, county Human Resources Department director J.D. Pellersels said. Ed Gilliland, a consultant to the county board on health care issues, said a review of the county employees shows the need for smoking cessation and shingles vaccines, given the large number of workers over age 60.

"We need to work for wellness on where the (health) threats are," Pellersels said.

County budget/tax analyst Dennis Butler said the wellness program costs -- as much as $125 monthly per employee to undertake a smoking cessation program -- would come from the county's health fund. Supervisor Doug Walish repeatedly said the costs for wellness would quickly look small when health care costs plummet as employees get healthier.

.....

"How can I say this? People will get fat and complacent -- it is part of life," he said.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_cf0876ba-b2da-5b0f-a4c4-262d7bd97d99.html

We cost employers (city/state/private) money, and give them time and they will force us to live our lives for them to save investors/tax payers money.

You will be a slave - and sadly many will be for it.....

Freedom of choice has a cost.