Using Reporting Requirements to Improve Employer Wellness Incentives and Their Regulation

Posted: 27 Apr 2015

See all articles by Kristin M. Madison

Kristin M. Madison

Northeastern University - School of Law; Northeastern University - Bouvé College of Health Sciences

Harald Schmidt

University of Pennsylvania, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine

Kevin Volpp

University of Pennsylvania - Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Medicine

Abstract

Employer interest in offering financial incentives for healthy behaviors has been increasing. Some employers have begun to tie health plan-based rewards or penalties to standards based on tobacco use or biometric measures such as body mass index. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act attempts to strike a balance between the potential benefits and risks of wellness incentive programs by permitting these incentives, but simultaneously limiting their use. Evidence about the implications of the newest generation of incentive programs for health, health costs, and burdens on individual employees will be critical for informing both private and public decision makers. After describing the many pieces of information that would be valuable for assessing these programs, this article proposes more narrowly-targeted reporting requirements that could facilitate incentive program development, evaluation, and oversight.

Keywords: Wellness, Health Insurance

Suggested Citation

Madison, Kristin M. and Schmidt, Harald and Volpp, Kevin, Using Reporting Requirements to Improve Employer Wellness Incentives and Their Regulation. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 1013-1034 (2014), Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper No. 224-2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2599517

Kristin M. Madison (Contact Author)

Northeastern University - School of Law; Northeastern University - Bouvé College of Health Sciences ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Harald Schmidt

University of Pennsylvania, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine ( email )

423 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

HOME PAGE: http://medicalethics.med.upenn.edu/people/faculty/harald-schmidt

Kevin Volpp

University of Pennsylvania - Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Medicine ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

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