According to Phillip Rawls in Businessweek, "Alabama is cracking down on state workers it thinks are too fat. The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit -- or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free. Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don't work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.
"Alabama already charges workers who smoke -- and has seen some success in getting them to quit -- but now has turned its attention to a problem that plagues many in the Deep South: obesity.
The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings.
If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won't be charged. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011."
For the rest of the article, see http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D92N1NO00.htm
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