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“The rewards can be big: Nearly one-third of the employers that provide a financial incentive for completing (not just participating in) a wellness program offer a maximum of $500 or more,” the Dallas Morning News reports.

“Likewise, more than half the large firms offer employees a financial incentive to take a health risk assessment, and more than one-third offer a maximum reward of more than $500. Others rely on a stick rather than a carrot; 7 percent of the large firms that offer health risk assessments penalize employees who are found to have health risk factors but don’t complete a wellness program.”

“Nearly half the employers offering biometric screening to measure cholesterol, blood pressure, stress or nutrition give employees $500 or more for participating, and 8 percent bestow financial rewards or impose penalties based on outcomes (such as meeting a target body mass index or managing cholesterol levels).”

“You’re likely to see even more emphasis on wellness benefits in 2015. The National Business Group on Health found that 46 percent of large employers plan to make contributions to employees’ health savings accounts based on their completing a wellness or education program (up from 30 percent in 2014), and 13 percent plan to make contributions based on progress toward a health goal. Keep these incentives in mind when picking your plan and making other health-care decisions during open enrollment this fall.”