你的腰围达到或者超过40英寸了吗？如果你想在米其林北美公司(Michelin North America Inc.)工作，腰部的这些赘肉可能会让你付出代价。
Are you a man with a waist measuring 40 inches or more? If you want to work at Michelin North America Inc., that spare tire could cost you.
从明年开始，这家轮胎制造企业里患有高血压或腰围达到一定尺寸的员工也许不得不额外支付多达1,000美元的医疗保险费用。
Employees at the tire maker who have high blood pressure or certain size waistlines may have to pay as much as $1,000 more for health-care coverage starting next year.
就在应对医保费用不断上升、自愿健康计划收效甚微的局面的同时，全美各地的企业开始对具有某些身体状况的员工实施惩戒措施，其中包括高血压和粗腰围。他们还要求员工提供体质指数、体重和血糖浓度等个人健康信息，否则员工会面临更高的保费或自费额度。
As they fight rising health-care costs and poor results from voluntary wellness programs, companies across America are penalizing workers for a range of conditions, including high blood pressure and thick waistlines. They are also demanding that employees share personal-health information, such as body-mass index, weight and blood-sugar level, or face higher premiums or deductibles.
公司领导说如果不改变员工的习惯，他们无法降低医保费用。他们援引了行为经济学家的研究成果，认为相比奖励这样的预期收益，人们对罚金这样的潜在损失会做出更有效的反应。根据韬睿惠悦咨询公司(Towers Watson)的一项研究，由于美国各公司今年在员工医疗保健方面的花费预计会达到人均12,136美元，处以罚金也许很快会成为大势所趋。
Corporate leaders say they can't lower health-care costs without changing workers' habits, and they cite the findings of behavioral economists showing that people respond more effectively to potential losses, such as penalties, than expected gains, such as rewards. With corporate spending on health care expected to reach an average of $12,136 per employee this year, according to a study by the consulting firm Towers Watson, penalties may soon be the new norm.
老板们也许会说，诸如处罚逃避体检的职员这种严爱式的措施可以使员工受益，并降低医疗保健费用。不过这些措施对员工而言也预示着一个暗淡的前景，像高血压这样的慢性病可能会让员工失去工作或晋升机会──或者一开始就成为了妨碍他们被录用的障碍。
Employers may argue that tough-love measures, such as punishing workers who evade health screenings, benefit their staff and lower health-care costs. But such steps also portend a murky future in which a chronic condition, such as hypertension, could cost workers jobs or promotions
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