<nobr>Sep 17, 2009</nobr>

ERIC Urges Lawmakers Not to Eviscerate Workplace Wellness Programs

Washington, D.C. -- In a letter sent today to the five Congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) urged the lawmakers to include a provision in the pending health care reform legislation confirming that existing laws do not prohibit employers from offering wellness programs that give individuals meaningful incentives to participate. A similar letter was sent to the White House.

"Although ERIC believes that voluntary wellness programs clearly comply with current law, we are concerned that upcoming federal regulations may restrict or prohibit the practices that make these programs effective, such as offering employees financial incentives to improve their health or conducting voluntary and confidential health risk assessments," said ERIC President Mark Ugoretz.

ERIC explains that limitations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, and potential further restrictions by federal agencies' interpretations of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) could threaten the viability of employer wellness programs.

"Faced with these unclear and potentially conflicting legal standards, employers are reluctant to invest additional resources in workplace wellness programs. . . . As a result, federal statutes that are designed to protect employees from misuse of medical information and from discrimination based on health conditions will have the unintended consequence of denying them access to effective workplace wellness programs that could help them stay healthy," Ugoretz said.

ERIC further argues that wellness programs use health risk assessments as a basis for developing a program tailored to each individual's health needs, but that health risk assessments also are in danger of being prohibited by the agencies' restrictive interpretation of GINA and the ADA.

In a separate statement, Ugoretz said that "we are, frankly, astounded at the direction in which upcoming guidance seems to be headed. Employers may well be put in the position of gutting their wellness programs in order to comply with these regulations. At a minimum, they may no longer be able to offer employees financial incentives to keep themselves and their families healthy. How much sense does that make? If we truly want to try to trim health care costs in this country, we need to arm employees with the tools to take responsibility for their health. In many cases, wellness programs are the mechanism to give employees these tools, and the key to an effective wellness program is the health risk assessment."

Ugoretz pointed out that the Chairman's Mark recently released by the Senate Finance Committee would authorize and appropriate $100 million to establish an initiative to provide incentives to Medicare beneficiaries who successfully complete certain healthy lifestyle programs. "I doubt those incentives, if offered in a private plan, would pass muster under the upcoming guidance," he said.

Links to ERIC's letters appear below.

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For more information:
Ted Godbout
Manager, Communications
The ERISA Industry Committee
1400 L Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 789-1400
Fax: (202) 789-1120
tgodbout@eric.org
www.eric.org

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The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is a non-profit association committed to representing the advancement of the employee retirement, health, and compensation plans of America's largest employers. ERIC's members provide benchmark retirement, health care coverage, compensation, and other economic security benefits directly to tens of millions of active and retired workers and their families. ERIC has a strong interest in proposals affecting its members' ability to deliver those benefits, their cost and their effectiveness, as well as the role of those benefits in the American economy.



Text Files:

Letter to House Education and Labor Committee

Letter to House Energy & Commerce Committee

Letter to House Ways & Means Committee

Letter to Senate Finance Committee

Letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee

Letter to President Obama

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