Health Insurance Louisville

Humana won't hire smokers in Arizona

The health insurer said Wednesday that it will no longer hire workers in Arizona who smoke or use other tobacco products, part of a trend of employers who are cracking down on tobacco use among workers.

To enforce the tobacco ban that starts Friday, Humana will test new employees for nicotine use during a pre-employment urine drug screen.

Humana representatives say it makes sense for a company in the health-care field to lead by example. Smoking's harmful effects on human health are well-documented, and Humana seeks to promote health and wellness — starting with its workers.

"Humana is dedicated to helping our employees take charge of their own health," said Dr. Charles Cox, Humana vice president and market medical officer for Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

Humana is part of a growing number of employers, many of them in health care, seeking to ban smoking among new hires. The Cleveland Clinic stopped hiring smokers in 2007, and hospitals in several states have stopped hiring tobacco-using employees.

No legal protections

Legal experts say nothing under state law prohibits employers from not hiring smokers.

"Being a smoker is not a category that is protected under the law," said Lisa Coulter, an attorney with Snell and Wilmer in Phoenix.

Coulter said more and more employers are seeking to regulate employees' conduct outside the workplace. Some examples include guidelines that prohibit what an employee can post on a social-media websites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Some employers offer financial incentives or penalties to reduce health-care costs by seeking behavioral changes. Some examples include programs that encourage employees to shed weight, diet, quit smoking or manage other risk factors that could lead to costly health conditions such as diabetes or high-blood pressure.

Such "wellness plans" may include tests that can measure things such as whether a person's body-mass index exceeds recommended standards or if cholesterol levels are dangerously high.

"They are trying to get a handle on the cost of health care and health insurance," said Henry GrosJean, a broker for GrosJean and Associates, a benefit-advisory firm.

Business, not personal: Humana embracing the ... - Insider Louisville

Is it just us, or has Humana enrolled in the  ‘better feared than loved” school of business with no particular regard to the negative publicity that seems to follow?

Part of the aggressive stance may be Humana Inc. shares are red hot. Part of it is, the Louisville-based health insurer/health provider will probably approach $40 billion in total annual revenue for 2011, giving the company the clout to push back against much larger Fortune 100 rivals such as Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth Group.

Clearly, the Louisville-based healthcare/health insurance giant is not winning friends by being nice:

In a move similar to its 18-month stand-off with University of Louisville Physicians, Humana has just parted ways with a University of Florida doctors practice in Jacksonville, Fla., according to several media outlets . Effective Wednesday, Humana terminated services with the UF primary care physician group. The group has a total of about 74 physicians and other healthcare providers, according to the reports. No one on either side will say what happened, but the relationship ended with the expiration of a contract. In Louisville, Humana and U of L Physicians parted ways in July 2010 after Humana demanded a 10-percent cut in reimbursement as terms for renewing a two-year contract. U of L Physicians CEO Mike Bukosky t old Insider Louisville earlier this month his docs group has gotten concessions – but no contract – from Humana, and will move on in 30 days if Humana execs don’t sign. In California, organizers of what had been the Bob Hope Classic for 52 years announced the PGA tournament will now be the “Humana Challenge” effective 2012. Here’s a quote from the organizer as posted on Mydesert.com : The name change “was something that no one even wanted to think about considering,” said Larry Thiel, chairman of the tournament. “But given the reality of today’s economy, with corporations looking to make the kind of commitment it takes to be a sponsor, there has to be something more than just, ‘I enjoy golf.’ There has to be something for the corporation.” Mr. Thiel sounds happy about it, doesn’t he? The Sun-Sentinel in South Florida is reporting Humana is investigating whether its Florida executives gave loans and payments  to doctors and health-care providers in exchange for docs bringing their patients to the insurer.