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A new type of medical insurance will soon be available to workers in Portland, Ore. Here is how it works: Participating health insurance plans will offer free health care for certain illnesses such as diabetes or depression. Sounds to good to be true, and maybe it is. There are selected treatments that will cost you pretty big. The insurers have singled out selected treatments that are often overused, including knee replacements, hysterectomies, and heart bypass surgery.
The new insurance is an attempt to control medical spending that continues to rise and impact health insurance premiums.
“We’re trying to make people better consumers,” says John Worcester, head of benefits at Evraz Oregon Steel, the sole employer to sign up since the plans began coming on the market earlier this year.
Workers who choose the option over a more traditional plan next year could see their costs drop sharply if they have one of six chronic conditions but might pay hundreds more in deductibles and co-payments if they need a hip replacement or a heart stent.
Those who support the new plan feel it will improve health and reduce medical costs. However, critics warn the plan will limit access to certain medical services. People who are advised to have one of the overused treatments will be discouraged from them due to the high costs. The plan could have an adverse affect of hurting individuals instead of helping them.
An increasing number of employers have launched company wellness initiatives. These programs are promoted as relatively low-cost ways to promote the good health of employees. They also promise to lower group health insurance costs. The logic is simple: a healthier workforce costs less to insure. Usually, employees can opt in the wellness program: if they do, they are then tested on health-related measures including cholesterol, weight, and high blood pressure. Then, the employee has a certain amount of time (often one year) to improve those health measures if they are currently unacceptable. If he or she lowers their cholesterol level or decreases their weight to a healthy body mass index, his or her 
