Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Sammons Financial Group employees were required to pay higher health-insurance premiums or lost valuable health-plan incentives because of the combined effect of multiple wellness-program requirements.
Publicly available benefits materials indicate that Sammons Financial Group offers multiple wellness-related incentives that may include biometric screening requirements, tobacco-related incentives, spouse participation requirements, and other wellness activities. When several incentives are combined, employees may lose substantial health-plan benefits if they do not satisfy every requirement.
These requirements may have included:
- completing a biometric screening;
- taking a health-risk assessment or medical questionnaire;
- certifying tobacco-use status;
- participating in wellness coaching or other wellness activities;
- allowing a spouse to complete wellness requirements;
- completing all required activities before specified deadlines; or
- satisfying multiple wellness requirements to receive the full available premium discount.
Federal law places limits on the amount of financial incentives or penalties that may be tied to employer wellness programs. Questions may also arise regarding whether multiple wellness incentives should be aggregated when determining whether a wellness program complies with applicable federal requirements.
Employees may also be entitled to reasonable alternatives, clear notice of available alternatives, and the opportunity to earn the full available reward without satisfying every initial wellness requirement.
We Are Interested in Hearing From Current and Former Sammons Financial Group Employees Who:
- paid more for health insurance because they did not complete one or more wellness requirements;
- lost multiple wellness incentives during the same plan year;
- were subject to both biometric and tobacco-related premium adjustments;
- lost benefits because a covered spouse did not participate;
- were not informed that reasonable alternatives were available;
- completed an alternative but did not receive the full available incentive;
- believe multiple wellness penalties were combined to increase their health-insurance costs; or
- believe the wellness program was confusing, unfair, or difficult to complete.
You may have rights even if the additional cost appeared on your paystub or benefits statement as a “wellness surcharge,” “premium differential,” “tobacco surcharge,” “standard premium,” or the loss of multiple wellness incentives.
If you participated in Sammons Financial Group’s health plan and were affected by its 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.