Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Nebraska Medicine employees were required to pay higher health-insurance premiums, lost employer Health Savings Account (“HSA”) contributions, or missed out on other health-plan benefits because a covered spouse did not complete certain wellness-program requirements.
Publicly available benefits materials indicate that Nebraska Medicine’s wellness program may provide additional premium incentives or employer HSA contributions when covered spouses also participate. According to those materials, employees and their spouses may be required to complete health surveys, biometric screenings, or other wellness activities for the household to receive the maximum available incentive.
These requirements may have included:
- requiring a spouse to complete a biometric screening;
- requiring a spouse to complete a Total Health Survey or health-risk assessment;
- collecting medical or health information from a covered spouse;
- requiring a spouse to complete wellness activities before specified deadlines;
- conditioning employer HSA contributions or premium discounts on spouse participation;
- requiring both members of the household to participate to receive the maximum available incentive; or
- completing other spouse-related wellness requirements.
Federal law places limits on how employers and health plans may administer wellness programs that request medical information from employees and their spouses. Participants may be entitled to reasonable alternatives, clear notices, and appropriate authorizations before losing premium discounts or employer HSA contributions because a spouse declined to participate.
Additional protections may apply when a wellness program requires medical examinations, health questionnaires, disability-related information, or other protected health information from a covered spouse.
We Are Interested in Hearing From Current and Former Nebraska Medicine Employees Who:
- lost an employer HSA contribution or premium incentive because a spouse did not participate;
- were required to have a spouse complete a biometric screening or health survey;
- 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 or household incentive;
- 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 HSA contribution or wellness incentive.
If you participated in Nebraska Medicine’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.