The Affordable Care Act allows your employer to incentivize your participation in a “wellness program.” Those programs include smoking cessation, weight loss, and preventive screenings.
Sounds good, and it is, but: Employers gain access to medical records in connection with these programs.
And there is this complication: Employers may offer up to 30% reduction in the employee contribution to health insurance for participation. Okay, that’s the incentive part.
But what if you don’t want to participate, especially because you don’t want your employer to access your medical information. From that perspective, wellness programs are discriminatory.
The AARP has sued to stop that part of the law that allows employers to have access to medical records. They say, with good reason, that the current regulation violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Where did the 30% come from? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (under Pres. Obama) used this number—admittedly arbitrary—to draw a line between a wellness program that offered a carrot (30%), and one that offered a punitive stick for not joining (31% and up).
It’s a tough case. The employer’s 30% incentive limit might save $240 for an employee who pays $800 a month for insurance (if it’s a family plan and a spouse enters a wellness program, the Obama regulations allow the employer to pay 60%).
On the other hand, why should employers see your medical records when it is not a matter that is work-related—e.g., smoking, weight loss or gain, and similar?
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