State employee health costs create frustration

“Health promotion, it works, but it’s not just a matter of saying, ‘Let’s just get a program and it’ll solve all of our cost problems,’ ” Dugas said. “What you want to do is encourage people to do those healthy things. A stick can get people there, but they probably won’t be happy about it,” Dugas said. “An incentive/reward is more likely to get people to the table on their own … and keep them coming back because they feel there’s really something in it for them, instead of just avoiding a penalty.”