Employers are increasingly turning to wellness programs as a way to control health care costs and improve employee engagement and productivity. However, a number of laws dictate what employers may, must, and may not do when designing and implementing these programs. Regulations issued last year have only added to the complexity. Employers offering or considering a wellness program need to understand the rules.

In this 90-minute intermediate level webinar we will discuss:

• The types of wellness programs that must follow the HIPAA nondiscrimination rules
• The different kinds of health-contingent programs
• Limits on allowable wellness incentives and penalties, and how to calculate them
• Reasonable alternative requirements, and ways to satisfy them
• Whether you can have smoker and non-smoker rates without a formal wellness program
• How GINA and the ADA affect wellness programs
• Taxation of wellness incentives

Joseph J. Lazzarotti, Shareholder, Jackson Lewis P.C.
Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a Shareholder in the Morristown, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He leads the Firm's Privacy, Social Media and Information Management Practice. He also is a member of the Employee Benefits Counseling and Litigation Practice Group and is a member of the Firm's Healthcare Reform Taskforce. Mr. Lazzarotti advises employers and plan sponsors regarding the establishment, administration, and operation of fully insured and self-funded health and welfare plans, which includes counseling concerning the new reform law, as well as assisting in the set-up of administrative and other arrangements with third-party administrators, claims administrators and other vendors.