<nobr>Nov 17, 2009</nobr>

ERIC Urges Agencies Not to Eviscerate Workplace Wellness Programs

Washington, D.C. -- The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), the Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing America's major employers, today submitted comments in response to a request for comments on the interim final rules implementing provisions of Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) that prohibit group health plans from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. The request was published by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury in the Federal Register on October 7, 2009.

ERIC has played a leading role on behalf of employers in trying to protect workplace wellness programs from the threat of these regulations. ERIC warned that the interim final regulation places new and unforeseen restrictions on health risk assessments (HRAs) that request family medical history and on employees' participation in disease management programs. The restrictions are not consistent with the statute, put employers at risk for complying with current law, and will severely impair the effectiveness of workplace wellness programs.

In the letter, ERIC President Mark Ugoretz said that:

"If group health plans are prohibited from offering participants incentives to complete confidential HRAs that include family medical histories, these programs will become far less effective. Nothing in Title I of GINA or in its legislative history suggests that Congress intended to impose such a restriction. It is ironic that the interim final regulations have interpreted GINA in a way that undermines wellness programs at a time when pending health reform measures emphasize the importance of preventive care and workplace wellness programs, and even mandate wellness benefits for Medicare beneficiaries."

ERIC urges that the Departments delay the effective date of the underwriting and enrollment provisions at least until the agencies have an opportunity to understand the impact on workplace wellness programs and to address the legal and practical concerns that ERIC identified.

ERIC's letter also emphasizes that significant difficulties were created by the publication of these regulations on October 7, 2009 (more than four months after the statutory deadline), a date by which most companies had already completed the preparation, if not the dissemination, of their open enrollment materials for 2010. Moreover, ERIC points out that the public comment period for the regulations closes in January 2010, a month after the regulations become effective.

Ugoretz warns that, "It simply is not possible for large employers to redesign their benefit programs, eliminate incentives previously promised to their employees, recall and reissue printed communications, coordinate with outside vendors, and take the other steps that would be necessary to comply with the new restrictions by January 1, 2010."

In a separate statement, Ugoretz said that, "we are greatly disappointed with the action taken by the agencies. Employers have been forced to gut a core element of their HRAs dealing with family medical history and delink the HRAs from their disease management programs in order to comply with these regulations. If we truly want to try to trim health care costs in this country, we need to arm employees with the tools to take responsibility for their health and not prevent employers from making these tools available to their workers."

A link to the letter appears below.

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For more information:
Ted Godbout
Manager, Communications
The ERISA Industry Committee
1400 L Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 789-1400
Fax: (202) 789-1120
tgodbout@eric.org
www.eric.org

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The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is a non-profit association committed to representing the advancement of the employee retirement, health, and compensation plans of America's largest employers. ERIC's members provide benchmark retirement, health care coverage, compensation, and other economic security benefits directly to tens of millions of active and retired workers and their families. ERIC has a strong interest in proposals affecting its members' ability to deliver those benefits, their cost and their effectiveness, as well as the role of those benefits in the American economy.


Text Files:

ERIC Comment Letter

ERIC Cover Letter to Agency Heads

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