Current Event 1: Health Care
Summary
Jay Hancock wrote an article titled, “Workplace Programs put Employees Privacy at Risk”, which was published to CNN on October 2, 2015. In his article, he discussed how workers from Houston were unsure about joining the employee wellness program because they were on edge to find out if it was in fact a legitimate wellness program or if it was a marketing scheme. Hancock stated that in Houston, it was required of employees to participate with the company wellness program and they were expected to give all of their confidential medical history. Jay Hancock informed the audience that the company was used to lower medical costs and improved the health of workers overall.
With being told to reveal their personal medical history, Hancock said that the workers missed in the fine print that their confidential history could be posted in areas viewable to the public and no longer protected by the privacy law. Jay Hancock stated that Houston workers do have the freedom to opt out of the wellness program but with that, they are expected to pay an extra $300 a year for medical coverage. Hancock quoted Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, when he said, “We don’t mind giving our information to our health care providers, but we don’t want to give it to a vendor that has carte blanche to give that information to anybody they want to.”
Opinion
I personally agree with the frustration that the Houston workers have towards this wellness program. Being pressured to give up your confidential medical history is wrong and should only be discussed with your health care provider. In that case, discussing such things with a health care provider cannot be discussed by them because it is in fact illegal according to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). To be asked for personal information for an online