ARE YOU KEEPING IT LEGAL?
—Points to ponder as you implement wellness and disease management programs
As you evaluate your current wellness and disease management programs, or look to develop new ones, legal compliance is of paramount importance. After all, your wellness program needs to be an effective strategy…not a legal liability.
Keeping employee involvement voluntary is one strategy broadly used by employers to keep programs lawful. But are you aware of other relevant approaches and specific legal issues? Some of them to consider include:
- HIPAA
- ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act)
- ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act)
- COBRA
- ERISA
- HRAs
- HSAs
- Tax topics
- State laws
Working knowledge of these issues can assist you in putting together a better program as they help you reduce legal compliance risks and avoid litigation. Although all the “legal-ese” may be intimidating, it shouldn’t stop you from seriously considering wellness initiatives. Some studies suggest up to 50% of illness-related costs stem from preventable illness*. Accordingly, wellness and disease-management programs can dramatically reduce your health plan costs and ultimately improve the health and well-being of your workforce. But you must do your homework before jumping onto the “DM” bandwagon.
Want to find out more? Then attend NIHP’s upcoming seminar on May 9. Entitled KEEPING IT LEGAL: The Ins and Outs of Wellness Program Liability, this morning-long session will help you understand this issue in more detail. Three specialists, including keynote speaker Karen Geller, an attorney and nurse who is currently FHN’s Director of Compliance, will give you valuable insight you can use right away. Sign up now!
*Source: “Preventive Care and Services in Workplace Health Plans,” Ian Dixon and Courtney Rees, Benefits & Compensation Digest
SMARTFLEX VISA DEBIT CARDS PROVING POPULAR
NIHP recently announced the availability of the SmartFlex Visa Debit Card for use with Flexible Spending Accounts administered by NIHP. With the SmartFlex Visa debit card, participants have instant access to the pre-tax funds available in their Flexible Spending Account.
According to one satisfied employee who recently started using his SmartFlex card, "This option has been an easy way for us to pay for services at the time we purchase them, which speeds up our bill paying. Plus we can check our account online at any time, and that helps us to budget the flex money we will be using for the year. It's a great system!"
If you are currently using NIHP for your Flexible Spending Account administration, and haven’t yet offered your workforce the SmartFlex option, contact us for a SmartFlex Debit Card quote. Your employees will appreciate the additional convenience…and you’ll welcome the potential FICA savings (based on greater participation and contributions). Call Sal Marino, the NIHP Regional Sales and Marketing Manager at Northern Illinois Health Plan
at (815) 599-7058 or email him at Smarino@fhn.org.
A Quick Review of Last Issue's "Quick Poll"
In the January issue of E to E we asked readers, “Do you plan to implement new cost-shifting strategies in the next year?” Voters appear split on the issue:
April Quick Poll — Vote
Have you implemented wellness and disease management programs at your business?
(Click a response to vote. Answers are strictly anonymous.)
Then, visit the NIHP website to view this issue's quick poll results.
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Further Reading
- Bona Fide Wellness Programs Under HIPAA
The Journal of Deferred Compensation, Winter 2005.
- HIPAA regulations provide guidance to employers wishing to sponsor wellness programs that promote healthy behavior. Features of a "bona fide wellness program" as defined by HIPAA guidelines is featured.
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