Wellness Programs
HRBiker
17 Posts
We would like to encourage employees with chronic conditions like diabetes, arthritis, and high blood pressure to participate in this program that provides "Disease Management." What kinds of incentives to participate in such a program are allowed and can we provide rewards for achieving goals such as reducing blood pressure by a specified amount?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
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there are new regs on HIPAA's nondiscrimination requirements covering wellness programs, so you should check them out. i did some digging and found this article that has a link to the regs: http://hr.blr.com/news.aspx?id=75136
the article says:
A wellness program that conditions a reward on an individual satisfying
a standard related to a health factor must meet these five requirements:
total reward must be limited--generally, it must not exceed 20 percent
of the cost of employee-only coverage under the plan.
reward must be available to all similarly situated individuals. The
program must allow a reasonable alternative standard (or waiver of
initial standard) for obtaining the reward to any individual for whom
it is unreasonably difficult due to a medical condition, or medically
inadvisable, to satisfy the initial standard.
terms of the program the availability of a reasonable alternative
standard (or the possibility of a waiver of the initial standard).
Gilsbar, Inc. in Lousisiana (www.gilsbar.com) has been offering health risk assessments to its employees since the mid-1980s, long before “wellness” was a hot topic. Employees interested in participating in the wellness program take a health risk assessment, have blood tests done, and meet with a physician to review test results and set appropriate, individual-specific goals. Employees who meet their goals can earn up to an extra week of vacation!