Under the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, introduced in the House of Representatives in March 2017 (H.R. 1313), employers may be able to encourage employees to provide identifiable genetic information and family medical history more strongly than ever before.

The bill, approved by a House of Representatives committee, would allow employers to ask about family medical history and request genetic information as part of a wellness program, without running afoul of the current restrictions on these types of questions.

Background on genetic testing in wellness programs

By way of background, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the amendments made to it by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provide an exception to the general prohibition on discrimination against individual participants and beneficiaries in eligibility, benefits or premiums based on a health factor.

This exception allows employers to offer premium discounts or rebates, or modify otherwise applicable cost sharing (such as copayments, deductibles or coinsurance) in return for employees’ adherence to certain programs of health promotion and disease prevention, subject to certain maximum incentive (or penalty) limits.

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