Employee Health and Wellness Programs . These expenses are a drain on profits, significantly influence business decisions and threaten the survival of many good organizations. The unique. Point- of- Care service delivery methods used by EHMS have been proven to reduce administrative expenses, without sacrificing program quality. Explore our administrative services for health programs and learn how we can help your business. The result is the most effective combination. Worksite health and wellness programs help employees. Health & Wellness. Health Plan Information; Campus Health Center; Campus Recreation & Fitness; Holiday Calendar; Managers, Department Chairs. Employee Wellness Programs Not So Voluntary Anymore. Dale Arnold, who worked for Wisconsin plastics maker Flambeau, chose not to take his work- sponsored health assessment and biometric screening. The company responded by pulling his insurance coverage. Like many employers, Flambeau uses a wellness program to cut insurance costs by encouraging healthy employee habits. In the past, submitting to on- site tests of blood pressure, body- mass, and cholesterol meant saving a few hundred dollars. Now companies such as Flambeau have gone a step farther, denying healthcare entirely to those who don't participate. People like Arnold must instead pay for more expensive coverage through the government's COBRA program. According to several federal courts. In a case filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U. S. Denying employer- sponsored coverage crosses the line from voluntary to coercive, the EEOC contended. Not so, said a federal judge in Madison, Wisc., who ruled on Dec. ADA as long as the data gleaned from the wellness program is used for purposes of overall health coverage. In this case, the screenings helped Flambeau determine the risk of its insurance pool. The EEOC says it is reviewing the decision. Samuel Bagenstos, a professor at the University of Michigan, claims the ruling turns . Employers spent a record $6. Fidelity Investments.
Wellness programs, an umbrella term for employer- supported initiatives to improve and promote employee health, were one of the most popular . Successes have been claimed. Companies that require health care surcharges for smokers, for example, say employees subsequently cut tobacco use, a recent SHRM survey found. Yet, despite the popularity of wellness programs among employers, their efficacy is unclear. Participation rates hovered at 2. Gallup research which concluded that, when employees don't engage, the programs definitely don't work. Moreover, such programs tend to see results only over the long term. Researchers in a seven- year study at Pepsi. Co found that participation was associated with lower health- care costs, but only after the third year. To spur workers to buy into wellness and all its health benefits (and savings for the company), it's common for employers to offer a reward of money toward health insurance premiums. In the Flambeau case, the company wasn't seeing results, so it upped the ante from a $6. Stephen Alfred Di Tullio, a lawyer for Flambeau, praised the court ruling, saying that . The Flambeau decision was their second defeat after suing employers who got creative in pushing wellness programs. In 2. 01. 2, a federal appeals court in Atlanta found in favor of an employer, using the same reasoning about the ADA to affirm a lower court ruling. In response to the confusion, the EEOC last spring put out proposed guidelines, drawing hundreds of critical comments from all sides. Under the new guidelines, the maximum penalty an employer can impose on non- participating workers is 3. The EEOC has two other lawsuits pending that challenge employer programs. Its new guidelines, which take effect next month, are also likely to trigger additional court fights..
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2017
Categories |