Wellness Programs in Limbo After Court Decision on Incentives

Workplace wellness programs, which some view as a way to reduce comorbidities in workers’ comp claims, are facing an uncertain future next year after a court ruling questioned the incentives used to encourage worker participation. A federal court in December 2017 vacated an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulation that set a limit on wellness program incentives at 30% of the cost of an employee’s self-only health coverage. The EEOC regulation is vacated effective Jan. 1, 2019. Employers and wellness program providers had been hoping the EEOC would issue a new regulation...