Contents
Keeping Your Wellness Programs Legal -
What you may have missed
Quick Poll – Review
July Quick Poll – Vote
Further Reading
Contact Information
NIHP Home
For every dollar invested, companies were enjoying anywhere from a $1.81 up to $6.15 in dollars saved!
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Keeping Your Wellness Programs Legal
What you may have missed
On May 9, NIHP presented a morning-long seminar focusing on the legal implications of wellness and disease management programs. Those in attendance were treated to insights from professionals who work directly in the field. To help you apply their practical experience in your unique setting, key highlights are listed below.
Wellness Programs – Prevention that Pays
Karen Geller, Director of Compliance at FHN, brought her knowledge as a nurse-attorney to share specifics on legalities surrounding employer-sponsored wellness programs. While bona fide Wellness Programs work well to reward employees for achieving certain wellness performance measures, employers must be careful when structuring a wellness program to make sure that it complies with multiple state and federal laws and regulations.
Specifically, she pointed out requirements for wellness programs in order to meet HIPAA compliance:
- The program must be reasonably designed to promote health or disease prevention
- Employees must have the opportunity to qualify for the reward at least once a year
- Reward/incentive must be limited to a specific percentage (10-20%) of the cost of employee-only coverage
- Reward must be available to all similarly situated employees (an alternative program which is reasonable must be available for those whose health makes it unreasonably difficult to satisfy the program goal)
- The printed materials advertising the program must clearly identify the reasonable alternative standard
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
FHN nurse practitioner Teresa Bussan shared her expertise as a cardiovascular disorders and cardiac risk factors specialist. Statistics show that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Illinois. However, it is also a chronic condition that responds extremely well to medical management and lifestyle change.
For employers, encouraging employees to participate in a wellness program to improve their health may lead to:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Reduced health care claims
- Reduced employee turnover
- Improved productivity and morale
- Overall return on investment
Is investing in a Wellness Program worth it for the average employer? Teresa investigated the Return on Investment (ROI) for 12 companies that had implemented programs for their employees. For every dollar invested, companies were enjoying anywhere from a $1.81 up to $6.15 in dollars saved!
FHN Wellness Rebate Program
For those interested in specific success stories, Jennifer Holder, HR Consultant with FHN, shared their program which rewards staff and eligible spouses. The program is entirely voluntary and there are no charges for entering the program. Rebates/cash incentives are given to participants who reach specific targets within these areas:
- Weight management
- Blood pressure
- Flu shots
- Smoking cessation
- Age appropriate screening tests (colonoscopies, mammograms, and PSAs)
The program has been well received with 513 participants for 2007, which is an increase over the 421 who enrolled during the first completed year in 2005. In 2006, 89.24% of the participants received a rebate for completing the program by participating in smoking cessation programs, prostate screenings, mammograms, blood pressure screenings, and/or weight reduction. The reward for FHN – a healthier workforce.
If you have questions about your healthcare program, give us a call. We regularly answer employer queries about everything from wellness programs to customized benefit rollout meetings. In 2006, clients gave us a 4.8 rating on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating of “Very Satisfied.”
A Quick Review of Last Issue's "Quick Poll"
In the April 2007 issue of E to E we asked readers, “Have you implemented wellness and disease management programs at your business?” The results show that about half of you have tried a program:
July Quick Poll — Vote
Which of the following programs do you think has the greatest potential for helping your employees lead a healthier lifestyle?
(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
- Legal issues legion with disease management, wellness
Employee Benefit Advisor, January 5, 2007.
- Benefit managers need to be aware of legalities of disease management programs. These plans should be in accordance with nondiscrimination issues, including the nature of the incentives, the cost of the incentives and which employees are eligible for the incentives.
- Brokers should be poised to catch the wellness wave
Employee Benefit News, April 1, 2007.
- 30% of U.S. employers now offer a program that measures health risks, manages disease and promotes healthy lifestyles; another 30% plan to offer one in the next three years; and 52% of the companies have fewer than 500 employees.
- Wellness
works, but beware legal landmines
HR.BLR.com, October 17, 2006.
- Employers should be aware that some wellness programs can run into problems with federal and state laws in terms of reasonable accommodation, privacy, confidentiality of personal health information, and protection of off-duty conduct.
For more information contact us at:
(800) 723-0202 or NIHPCustomerService@fhn.org
1006 W. Stephenson St., Freeport, IL 61032
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