I was wondering if doing so (and, hopefully, passing the physical with flying colors) would help to reduce my rates. Or is that simply not done?
Probably depends on whether your insurer uses Community Rating.
There’s been questions raised about the value of physicals (and preventive services in general) Talking with people from Europe they don’t understand the American obsession where you need “physicals” for school, camp, sports, and whatnot. Insurance still pays for them because it’s expected and increasingly being mandated, but I’m not aware of any that offer a discount for “passing”. Some companies are offering carrot and sticks for passing certain simple tests that have clear numerical values; my insurance company sends out a incentive check if you got to a screening at my employer and pass BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesteral, and tobacco use tests.
If you are part of a group plan in the US (ie, employer based insurance), then no. Individual rates are based on a price negotiated by your employer, and they don’t differ within the group. That’s the whole concept of insurance – pooled risk. if the price differed based on health, people in good health would pay close to nothing or opt out, and sick people would have rates too high to be affordable.
A while back, I asked HR if I could get a discount on my health insurance by taking and passing a drug test. The response was NO.
Health insurance policies are unique and not standard. Ask your insurance provider.
Many employers are moving to adjusted shared risk pools, meaning, that if you are a smoker, have a BMI greater than a certain measure, have a cholesteral level higher than a certain level, etc. then your premiums will be higher than otherwise. They are shifting the costs of the insurance to those who have the greatest long term risks. Potentially as a way to incentivize more healthy behaviors among their employees to reduce the company’s long term health care costs.