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The inclusion of a bipartisan wellness amendment in the Senate Finance health care bill last week has sparked the formation of a coalition of associations and other groups claiming it undermines health care reform.

The Carper/Ensign amendment, adopted by an 18-4 vote, would allow employers whose employees participate in a variety of wellness programs to give a health insurance premium discount of up to 30%; the amendment increases the current federal level of 20%.  Qualified wellness programs would include weight loss programs and smoking cessation classes which employers want their employees to join to decrease their chance of high medical bills from preventable disease.  The amendment would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to even increase the discount up to 50%.

“Weight gain and unhealthy lifestyles that focus on smoking and lack of exercise have sky-rocketed our healthcare costs.  These costs could be lowered by focusing on what makes us healthy - through weight loss programs, smoking cessation and preventive care.  Voluntary employee participation in these areas should naturally be reflected in lower healthcare costs,” Ensign said in a statement.

Inclusion of the amendment in the Finance bill has created opposition from a wide range of associations, unions, and issue advocacy groups across the political spectrum.  Organizations such as the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society-Cancer Action Network argue that the amendment’s inclusion creates a health coverage disparity between the healthy and those with chronic illness.  The coalition of organizations are conducting Hill visits advocating to members of Congress that legislating wellness programs into employer insurance will raise premiums for sicker employees, forcing those employees to drop coverage or move into a higher-cost plan.

“Charging people more for their insurance because they have a health condition is simply going to push people out of the system,” said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown to the National Journal (subscription).

The language also raises employee privacy concerns, the American Cancer Society’s Dick Woodruff told National Public Radio.  “I think it’s incredibly intrusive for a person to go to work and have to undergo, for instance, a cheek swab. And the results of that information get filed away somewhere. You don’t know what happens to that information.”

Do you think that health care reform legislation should have wellness provisions that allow for adjustable premiums?

Quick Hits

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service released an analysis of the impact of health reform on small businesses… 154 House Democrats sign a letter opposing taxing “Cadillac” insurance plans… A bipartisan group is pushing the Senate Majority Leader to post the merged Senate health care bill on the internet for 72 hours… Moderate Senate Democrats are cautiously supporting the Carper public option alternative.