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Small Employer Wellness Grants Coming Soon
 Starting in 2011, small employers (those with fewer than 100 employees who work 25 or more hours a week) may apply for grants that help pay for wellness programs that meet specific requirements.
The Department of Health & Human Services is expected to release detailed criteria about programs that are eligible for grant funding in 2011. (Only wellness programs started after the health care reform law was enacted (March 23, 2010) will be eligible for grant funding.)
To be eligible, the wellness program must include each of the following components:
- Health awareness initiatives (including health education, preventive screenings and health risk assessments);
- Efforts to maximize employee engagement (including mechanisms to encourage employee participation);
- Initiatives to change unhealthy behaviors and lifestyle choices (including counseling, seminars, online programs and self-help materials); and
- Supportive environment efforts (including workplace policies to encourage healthy lifestyles, healthy eating, increased physical activity and improved mental health).
To apply for a grant, eligible employers must submit an application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The application must conform to requirements provided by HHS and must include a proposal for a comprehensive workplace wellness program that satisfies the criteria outlined above. |
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Cap on Wellness Rewards Increasing to 30%
 In 2014, the cap on reward payments to employees who participate in qualified wellness programs and meet certain health-related benchmarks will increase from 20% of the total cost of coverage to 30% of the total cost.
Currently, the wellness program requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nondiscrimination regulations limit the total reward that may be given to an individual for achieving health standards under an employer's compliant wellness incentive program. Currently, such rewards are limited to an aggregate annual maximum of 20% of the full cost of coverage under the employer's group health plan. If participation in the wellness program is open to dependents, the reward is limited to 20% of the cost of coverage in which the employee and any dependents are enrolled.
A provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (or health care reform law) will increase this limit to 30% starting in 2014. The provision also gives regulators the option to increase the cap to as much as 50% in later years.
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