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The Affordable Care Act & Workplace Wellness Programs 2014
Melanie L. Milner
Texas A&M Corpus Christi
The Affordable Care Act & Workplace Wellness Programs 2014
The Affordable Care Act was passed into law by the United States Congress and President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The overarching purpose of the Act was to allow individuals, families, and small business owners the ability to be in control of their own health care (PPACA, 2010). The Act permitted the establishment of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council, with a focus on prevention and wellness within the public health spectrum (PPACA, 2010). The Council developed a health promotion strategy that prevented group health plans from discriminating on premiums and eligibility, and defined specific criteria, including financial incentives and wellness programs, which must be met in the effort to embrace wellness and improve employee health (Moran, 2013). The rules and strategies set forth by the Affordable Care Act that apply to wellness programs were revisited and reorganized, and became effective for insurance and benefit plans beginning on or after January 1, 2014 (Moran, 2013). The current regulations specify wellness programs into categories, require nondiscriminatory rules that offer alternative programs and waivers annually for those with health conditions, and increase the amount of monetary rewards permissible to those who meet a health related standard (Livingston & Bergstrom, 2013).
The 2014 regulations of the Affordable Care Act distinguish wellness programs into participatory and health-contingent programs (The Bailey Group, 2013). Participatory wellness programs provide members with financial reasons to comply and engage in the offered resources (Livingston & Bergstrom, 2013). Employers can offer programs that encourage better lifestyle

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