GINA regulations give guidance on use of wellness program incentives

Employer wellness programs can include financial incentives as long as they comply with the newly released final regulations under Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The regulations clarify that employers can use incentives to encourage participation in wellness-related health services (e.g., completing a health risk assessment or following a disease management program) as long as they do not require participants to provide genetic information and the programs are available to all employees.

District wellness programs can provide employees with an incentive for completing a health-risk assessment that includes questions that could expose genetic information as long as:

• Providing such information is voluntary and the employee completes an authorization form written in language the employee will understand that describes the information requested, how it will be used, and the safeguards in place to ensure confidentiality;
• Questions that could require an employee to disclose genetic information, including family medical history, are specifically identified; and
• It is clear that the employee does not have to answer those questions to receive the incentive.

Employers can also use incentives to encourage employees who volunteer genetic information that indicates an increased risk of future health conditions to participate in programs to improve their health. Disease management and prevention programs and incentives must also be available to all employees, including employees with health conditions and those whose lifestyles put them at risk.

The regulations also clarify that employers can receive genetic information from a third party as long as the information is in aggregate terms that do not disclose the identity of specific employees. Regulations are not violated if, for reasons beyond the employer’s control (such as the small number of participants), the genetic information of a particular person is readily identifiable.

The final GINA regulations, available on the Equal Employment Opportunity Web Site  include examples of acceptable practices. These regulations went into effect on Jan. 10, 2011.