Senate, House Leaders Introduce Bill to Provide Certainty to Employers Offering Innovative Employee Wellness Programs
Legislation will eliminate confusion caused by EEOC for employers who
provide financial rewards to employees for healthy lifestyle choices
Tuesday, March 03, 2015Margaret Atkinson
/ Jim Jeffries (Alexander) 202-224-2465
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 3 – U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander
(R-Tenn.) and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) with Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Johnny
Isakson (R-Ga.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.),
and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) yesterday introduced legislation to provide legal
certainty—and eliminate confusion caused by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)—for employers offering employee wellness programs that lower
health insurance premiums to reward healthy lifestyle choices.
“More and more, employers are using outcomes-based programs to make health
insurance less expensive for their employees,” said
Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee. “Nearly half of all large employers say they plan to offer
one these innovative plans in 2015, making it even more important to eliminate
confusion caused by the EEOC and restore certainty for employers who want to
reward their employees for leading a healthy lifestyle.”
“Employee wellness programs not only help control the cost of health
insurance,” said Kline, chairman of the House Education and the
Workforce Committee, “but they also promote healthy lifestyles.
Remarkably, executive overreach by the EEOC is actually punishing employers for
offering wellness plans. Congress must take action to rein in this agency and
provide the certainty necessary for more Americans to enjoy the benefits of
these innovative health programs.”
“With so many employers taking advantage of the benefits that come with
offering workplace wellness programs, it is important that Congress acts to
clear any legal uncertainty or confusion,” said Enzi, chairman on the
Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. “By
reaffirming existing law, Congress is ensuring that employees can continue to
benefit financially when they choose to make healthy lifestyle choices.”
“This legislation ensures what Congress has already decided – private
companies are free to promote health and wellness among their employees through
voluntary incentives like premium discounts, rather than heavy-handed federal
mandates and taxes. I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of the
Preserving Employee Wellness Program Act, and applaud employers that
put in place such programs to lower health care costs for employees while also
creating a healthy workforce,” said Isakson, chairman of the Senate
Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.
“Our health care system needs common sense solutions driven by positive
outcomes, not more uncertainty caused by the federal government,” said
Scott. “Employee wellness plans have been proven to help control health
insurance costs, and as more and more employers utilize them it is essential
that the EEOC simply clarify its rules instead of pursuing litigation against
employers because it has refused to issue guidance. I am excited to join my
colleagues to introduce this important legislation that helps promote healthy
lifestyles and cuts through some of the bureaucratic maze that Washington
specializes in creating."
“With this bill, Congress’s bipartisan commitment to employee wellness
programs should put a stop to EEOC’s overreach in seeking a court order to halt
a company’s healthcare premium discount program,” said
Hatch. “At a time when Obamacare is creating uncertainty for
employers and employees, this act will provide legal certainty to employers
offering workplace wellness programs."
“Once again during the Obama Administration, Congress must clarify the intent
of a bipartisan provision,” Roberts said. “In this case, I am
happy to co-sponsor legislation that would reaffirm our commitment to business
and health in regards to wellness programs. Financial incentives get results.
Employers should be able to offer programs that encourage employees to make
healthy lifestyle choices.”
“This is yet another example of the EEOC being out of step with employers and
employees,” Walberg said. “Innovative approaches that empower employees to take
more control of their personal health care decisions should be encouraged, not
stymied by greater government overreach,” said Walberg, chairman of the
House Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
A bipartisan provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
allowed employers to discount health insurance premiums by up to 30 percent—or
50 percent if approved by the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and
Human Services—for healthy lifestyle choices like quitting smoking or
maintaining a healthy cholesterol level. A recent survey by Towers Watson and
the National Business Group on Health showed that 46 percent of large employers
plan to offer one of these programs in 2015. However, recent litigation pursued
by the EEOC, citing the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, has threatened the certainty of
law for employers who offer these programs.
The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, introduced today by
Alexander and Kline, will reaffirm existing law, which allows for
employee wellness programs tied to a financial reward. The legislation clarifies
that an employee’s spouse may participate in the program as well. It also
provides employees up to 180 days to request and complete an alternative
wellness program if it is medically inadvisable or unreasonably difficult for an
employee to participate in the original employee wellness program. Finally, the
legislation does not limit the EEOC’s authority to investigate and litigate
complaints of employment discrimination.
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