If the Healthy Workforce Act winds its way through the legislative process and becomes law, employers will have yet another reason to add disease management and wellness programs to their benefits packages: big tax incentives. The bill, introduced simultaneously in the House and Senate in April, calls for a tax credit of 50 percent of the cost of a qualified employer health promotion program up to $200 per employee for the first 200 employees and $100 per employee thereafter. Employers whose employees access wellness programs through their health plan may be eligible to deduct the corresponding portion of their premiums. The bill was introduced by a bipartisan group and has won the early support of hundreds of employers, health advocates, associations and others. To track progress on the bill, visit www.govtrack.us and search under Bills and Resolutions for S.803.
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For more detail on the bill itself, visit this summary on the U.S. Workplace Wellness Alliance Web.
