Managed Care - February 2008 - (Page 39) Wellness Federal and State Governments Pressed to Give Tax Breaks For Wellness Initiatives Legislators are being urged to reward companies that provide programs for their workers, but success has been mixed To qualify for the tax credits, an employer’s program would have to be implemented in consultation with an organization or individual who had hen it comes to encouraging welldeveloped a similar wellness plan for a different orness programs, government is startganization. ing to get into the act. On Capitol The program must be offered annually and inHill and in statehouses from Maine clude at least two of the preventive measures recto California, legislators are sponsoring measures ommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task to encourage private sector employers to embrace Force as well as annual counseling sessions and wellness programs as one way of clamping down on seminars related to at least three of the folhealth care inflation. lowing: smoking, obesity, stress management, At the federal level, Republican Rep. Joseph physical fitness, nutrition, substance abuse, Knollenberg of Michigan last February indepression, mental health, heart disease, and troduced the Wellness and Prevention Act of maternal and infant health. The bill also re2007 (HR 853), which offers companies a quires that at least 50 percent of eligible full$200 tax credit for every employee who partime employees participate in the program. ticipates in a wellness program. Under the Knollenberg’s bill, however, is stalled in the bill, wellness programs would include screensubcommittee on health. ings for chronic diseases and educational Companies Meanwhile, in July, Democratic Sen. Tom seminars on eating healthily, exercise, and would get a $200 Harkin of Iowa and Republican Sen. Gordon managing stress. tax break for ‘“An ounce of prevention is still worth a every worker who Smith of Oregon introduced similar legislation, called the Healthy Workforce Act of pound of cure,” Knollenberg says. “We need participates in a to focus on preventing chronic diseases from wellness program 2007 (S 1753). under a bill That bill would provide a credit of 50 perhappening in the first place.” introduced by cent of the costs paid or incurred by an emKnollenberg’s measure drew immediate Rep. Joseph ployer with a qualified wellness program, up praise from Beaumont Hospital, the second Knollenberg of to $200 per employee for the first 200 worklargest employer in his district. “As an em- Michigan. ers and $100 per worker for additional workployer, we know that providing financial iners. An employer could receive a tax credit for 10 centives for employee wellness programs improves years after establishing a new qualified wellness a person’s health status,” says Daniel Zembrzuski, program. director of the Beaumont Employee Health Plan. “And, as a provider of health care services, we know that health care costs increase due to the effects of What’s needed smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, and other poor Under the measure, programs would need to be health habits.” certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Giving both employers and employees a finanHuman Services, in coordination with the Center cial incentive for wellness programs is “a win-win for Disease Control & Prevention. To qualify, profor everyone,” Zembrzuski concludes. grams would need to include education and counBy Michael Levin-Epstein W FEBRUARY 2008 / MANAGED CARE 39
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