Some political leaders and advocacy groups for consumers and seniors are concerned about new rules regarding wellness programs.
Under the new rule announced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers can offer financial incentives up to 30 percent of the cost of the company health plan to employees who participate in a wellness program.
While the law still requires that wellness provisions be "voluntary," many argue that tying participation in such programs to a very hefty financial reward or punishment leaves employees with very little choice.
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"These rules put workers between a rock and hard place," says AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. "Employees must now hand over sensitive medical and genetic information on themselves and their spouse to their employer's wellness program, or protect their personal health information, forcing them to pay up to thousands of dollars more for their health insurance."
Judith Lichtman, an adviser to the National Partnership for Women and Families, made similar comments to the Wall Street Journal.
"What we are really concerned about is what on its face appears like a voluntary program really ends up begin coercive," she says.
In another statement, Lichtman suggested that fears of employers getting access to sensitive medical information might actually prevent workers from submitting to tests. And forcing workers to share medical data with employers could lead to discrimination, she says.
And some Democratic leaders in Congress are pushing back against the new rule, in apparent defiance of President Obama, who has generally been supportive of wellness programs.
"We remain steadfast in our belief that the EEOC must ensure employees provide their private health information to these programs voluntarily, and employers must put adequate safeguards in place to protect the private health information of workers who participate," said U.S. Reps. Bobby Short, D-VA, and Frederica Wilson, D-FL, both members of the House Education and Workforce Committee, in a joint statement. "While today's final rule contains small improvements from the proposed rules, we believe that these changes fall short of achieving these goals."
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-TN, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Labor, criticized the new rule, but from a different angle. He complained that it was less ambitious than the wellness goals envisioned by the PPACA, which he said would employers to offer incentives up to 50 percent of the cost of a health plan.
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