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Safeway's health insurance takes stick-and-carrot approach

Last week the Senate Finance Committee passed a health care reform bill by an unusually bipartisan 18-4 vote. The bill included a stick-and-carrot “wellness provision” modeled after Safeway’s health insurance system, which rewards non-smoking, low BMI employees with low premiums, and arguably penalizes smoking or obese employees with higher rates. CEO Steve Burd says it’s kept their healthcare costs flat and lowered his employees’ obesity rates, but the American Heart Association and American Cancer Association say it’s a clever way to discriminate.

Guest:

Jerry Flanagan, health care policy director, Consumer Watchdog, a consumer advocate group

Jessica Waltman, Senior Vice President of government affairs for the National Association of Health Underwriters; she also worked with Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) on the health care reform bill that passed in the Senate Finance Committee last week