evolution

The Safeway grocery store chain is considering dropping its employees’ health insurance premiums in exchange for their participation in a program that tracks their food-buying habits and selects those with a certain number of “healthy” food purchases.

The program is opt-in.¹

The move is part of a wider push by leading employers Kellogg’sHumanaPitney Bowesto offer lower health premiums to employees who pursue healthy lifestyles.

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.

It also allows customers to see the relative nutritional benefits of different products and brands. If prompted, it proposes other products, such as a soup brand with lower sodium levels.

Dillons (and the entire Kroger chain) has had the loyalty cards for years. So has Price Chopper, which is active in Topeka and the Kansas City metropolitan area.

A program that requires one to choose to participate in it doesn’t really perk up my antennae, but it caught my eye for two reasons – one, that I now work for a health-insurance company; two, that these sort of things tend in this day and age to become compulsory.²

Innovative idea or bad omen?

[title reference]

1. for now, he muttered under his breath. [↩]
2. I assure you they will be once government takes over health care; if, God forbid, that should ever happen. [↩]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 18:38 and is filed under news/media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.