AARP, the nation’s leading senior citizen lobby group, said it was “deeply disappointed” by the Obama administration’s new rules for employer-run workplace wellness programs. The lobby group said the rules “violate both the letter and the spirit” of civil rights laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and indicated it would likely challenge them in court.
The rules, published Monday by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, govern rules for employer-run “wellness programs,” a type of group health plan. The rules allow companies to request a worker’s or their spouse’s medical history and/or to conduct examinations in exchange for up to 30 percent of the cost of self-coverage. Employees are not obligated to turn over the information but can lose the opportunity to participate in the plan if they do not.
The rules go into effect at the beginning of next year. They were prompted by questions from employers seeking clarification regarding how the Obamacare rule applies to wellness programs.
AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said the rules amounted to allowing financial coercion.
“These rules put workers between a rock and hard place: 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,” LeaMond said.
The administration defended the rules are a reasonable trade-off. “The EEOC received comments on both rules from a broad array of stakeholders and considered them carefully in developing this final rule,” said EEOC Chairwoman Jenny R. Yang.
