Listen now (22 mins) | Listen Now Today nearly all large employers offer a workplace wellness programs and most small employers that offer health benefits also offer at least one wellness program. Typically these programs consist of health risk assessments, biometric screenings, health coaching and lifestyle management education. Program popularity is not surprising considering the epidemic in what's termed "lifestyle diseases" due to, in part, poor nutrition and tobacco use. To encourage employee participation in these programs the Affordable Care Act will allow beginning in 2014 employers to discount up to 30% of successfully participating employee's insurance premiums and up to 50% if the additional 20% is due to a reduction in employee tobacco use. However, do these programs work and more pointedly do they shift health care costs from healthier employees to those considered less healthy?