Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Voya Financial’s employee health plan administers tobacco-related health insurance surcharges in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and federal wellness program regulations.
Federal wellness program regulations generally allow employers to charge higher health insurance premiums to tobacco users only if participants who do not satisfy the tobacco-free standard are offered a reasonable alternative standard that allows them to earn the full premium discount.
Publicly available 2026 Voya Financial benefits materials reportedly impose a tobacco-related premium surcharge while offering tobacco cessation resources. The publicly available plan documents raise questions regarding whether participants are fully informed of available reasonable alternative standards, physician-directed alternatives, applicable deadlines, and whether employees who satisfy an alternative standard receive timely removal of the surcharge or reimbursement of previously collected premiums.
This investigation seeks to determine whether Voya Financial’s tobacco surcharge program complies with ERISA wellness program requirements and whether employees paid tobacco-related premium surcharges that should not have been assessed.
What Employees Report
Employees report:
- Paying tobacco-related health insurance premium surcharges.
- Participating in tobacco cessation efforts while continuing to pay increased premiums.
- Receiving limited information regarding reasonable alternative standards.
- Being uncertain how physician accommodations or other alternatives operated.
- Questions regarding whether previously collected surcharges would be refunded.
- Difficulty understanding how to permanently eliminate the surcharge.
Why Employees Should Be Concerned
Employees should generally have a meaningful opportunity to earn the full wellness reward even if they continue using tobacco products, provided they satisfy an approved reasonable alternative standard.
If employees are not clearly informed of their rights or if surcharge administration limits access to reasonable alternatives contemplated by federal wellness program regulations, participants may pay higher health insurance premiums than ERISA permits.
This investigation seeks to determine whether Voya Financial properly administered its tobacco surcharge program and whether affected employees may be entitled to reimbursement of improperly assessed tobacco-related premium surcharges.
Potential Claims May Include
- ERISA Violations
- Failure to Provide a Reasonable Alternative Standard
- Improper Wellness Program Administration
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- Recovery of Improperly Assessed Tobacco Surcharges
- Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Signs You May Be Affected
You may be affected if:
- You participated in Voya Financial’s employee health plan.
- You paid a tobacco-related premium surcharge.
- You participated in a tobacco cessation or wellness program.
- You were not clearly informed about reasonable alternatives or physician accommodations.
- You continued paying the surcharge despite participating in available programs.
- You still possess payroll records, enrollment materials, or benefits communications regarding the surcharge.
If you believe you encountered these issues, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call at (202) 470-3520.