Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether WestCare Foundation employees were required to pay higher health-insurance premiums, lost employer health-plan contributions, or missed out on other health-plan benefits because their covered spouse did not complete certain wellness-program requirements.
Publicly available benefits materials indicate that WestCare Foundation offers wellness incentives that reportedly may require participation by both employees and covered spouses. Employees may receive the full employer contribution toward health-insurance coverage only if both members of the household complete specified wellness activities.
These requirements may have included:
- allowing a spouse to complete a biometric screening;
- requiring a spouse to complete a health-risk assessment or medical questionnaire;
- requiring a spouse to participate in wellness challenges or health coaching;
- collecting health information from a spouse;
- completing wellness requirements before a specified deadline;
- requiring both the employee and spouse to participate to receive the full employer contribution; or
- completing other spouse-related wellness activities.
Federal law places limits on how employers and health plans may administer wellness programs that condition health-plan benefits on a spouse’s participation. Participants may be entitled to reasonable alternatives, appropriate notices, and required authorizations before losing premium discounts or employer contributions because a spouse declined to participate.
Additional protections may apply when wellness programs request medical information from spouses or require spouses to undergo health screenings or complete health questionnaires.
We Are Interested in Hearing From Current and Former WestCare Foundation Employees Who:
- lost an employer contribution or wellness incentive because a spouse did not participate;
- were required to have a spouse complete a biometric screening or health questionnaire;
- paid higher health-insurance premiums because a spouse declined to participate;
- were not informed that a reasonable alternative was available;
- requested an alternative but were denied or delayed;
- completed an alternative but did not receive the full employer contribution;
- were concerned about providing family medical information; or
- believe the wellness program was confusing, unfair, or difficult to complete.
You may have rights even if the financial consequence appeared as a “wellness surcharge,” “premium differential,” “standard premium,” “non-wellness rate,” or as the loss of an employer health-plan contribution.
If you participated in WestCare Foundation’s health plan and were affected by its spouse-related wellness program, please contact Migliaccio & Rathod LLP. There is no charge to speak with us, and there is no obligation to take legal action.
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.
Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that represents consumers and employees in class-action lawsuits nationwide.