A recent Wall Street Journal article pointed out that, “Companies might add something new to their annual reports: a rating of their workers’ health.
“A group of employers, including International Business Machines Corp., PepsiCo Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, are weighing how to publicly report—and measure—the health of their workforce. Such ratings would give shareholders, corporate directors, managers and consumers insight into a company’s commitment to improving employee health, and whether such efforts are getting results. Chronic illness, tobacco use and obesity can drive up a company’s medical costs, but a growing body of research suggests they can also affect productivity and performance.”
The Journal article noted that, “Any health information would be presented in the aggregate, to conform with health-privacy laws;” and added that, “A coalition of employers and insurers, dubbed the Health Metrics Working Group, has been meeting for more than a year to figure out how to collect, interpret and report this data for annual reports or other financial statements.”
