http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/70666532.html

By Chris Burritt and Carol Wolf - Bloomberg Whole Foods Market Inc., the
largest U.S. natural goods grocer, plans to sweeten store discounts to
employees who lose weight and measurably improve their health.

Workers will receive discounts of 20 percent rising to 30 percent based on
blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body-mass index and whether they smoke,
CEO John Mackey said in a telephone interview this week. The program is
voluntary and begins in January, he said.

“We're making an investment, and we expect a return,” Mackey said,
referring to potential savings in health care costs. Whole Foods spent $150
million on self-insured health coverage last year, he said.

The offer reflects his published opinion that most health problems are
“self-inflicted” and can be prevented through proper diet, exercise and
similar lifestyle changes. Cost savings are achieved by “less government
control and more individual empowerment,” he has said.

Mackey angered some Whole Foods customers in August when he wrote in a Wall
Street Journal op-ed column that people “have no intrinsic right to health
care.” It is a service, just like food, clothing and shelter, “best
provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges.” The
resulting outcry included calls for a boycott and his ouster.

Mobile laboratories will travel to Whole Foods stores to perform the health
tests, Mackey said. Contests within stores and regions will keep employees
motivated, he said.

“We make getting the 20 percent discount easy to encourage participation,”
he said. “The discounts are on a sliding scale based on results.”

For employees considered high risk because of obesity, Type 2 diabetes or
other health issues, Whole Foods already offers a retreat-style immersion
program. Mackey said the company pays “several thousand dollars” for each
individual to work five to 10 days with one of four U.S. doctors. He
declined to specify the amount.

More than 100 people have participated. “Several of those employees have
told me the program saved their lives,” Mackey said.

Whole Foods pays health care premiums for its 40,000 full-time employees,
or more than 75 percent of its work force, said Kate Lowery, a spokeswoman.
Part-time employees pay their own premiums, she said.