Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether employees have been required to pay higher health-insurance premiums, lost employer HSA contributions, or forfeited other health-plan benefits because they did not complete a biometric screening, health assessment, or medical questionnaire.

Employer wellness programs may require employees to undergo blood testing, provide measurements such as blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, weight, or BMI, or complete questionnaires concerning their health. Employees who decline may be charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars more for health coverage each year.

Federal law places limits on how employer health plans may use wellness programs to obtain medical information or condition health-plan costs and benefits on participation.

Examples of Programs We Are Reviewing

Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is reviewing wellness programs used by a number of large employers and health plans, including programs associated with:

Chemours, where public materials describe a substantial annual premium credit tied to biometric screening;
DENSO, where biometric screening and a Member Health Assessment have been tied to preferred health-plan premiums;
Ameris Bank, where public materials describe a monthly premium credit tied to a health assessment, biometric screening, and wellness status;
T. Rowe Price, where public materials describe a significant annual premium incentive tied to biometric screening and a health assessment;
Cintas, where public benefits materials have referenced lower premiums for employees completing a health assessment; and
other employers using similar biometric-screening or health-questionnaire requirements.
The inclusion of a company on this page does not mean that its wellness program violates the law. We are investigating how these programs are actually administered and whether affected employees received all protections required by law.

You May Be Affected If:

You receive health insurance through a private-sector employer;
You were offered lower health-insurance premiums for completing a biometric screening or health assessment;
You paid a higher premium because you did not participate;
You lost an employer HSA or HRA contribution;
You were required to provide blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, weight, BMI, or other medical information;
You were required to complete a health-risk questionnaire;
You were not told that another way to receive the same discount or benefit might be available;
You requested an alternative but were denied or delayed;
You completed an alternative but did not receive the full discount or refund; or
You felt that providing medical information was effectively mandatory because of the size of the financial penalty.

The strongest cases may involve substantial premium differences, required blood work or detailed medical questionnaires, limited alternatives, or confusing disclosures.

What Documents Can Help?

You do not need to know whether your employer’s program violated the law before contacting us.

Useful documents may include:

your Summary Plan Description (“SPD”);
annual benefits or open-enrollment guides;
wellness-program emails or portal screenshots;
Explanation of Benefits statements;
paystubs showing a wellness credit, surcharge, or premium differential;
HSA contribution records; and
letters or emails concerning reasonable alternatives.

Does This Apply to Your Health Plan?

This investigation generally concerns people who receive health insurance through a private-sector employer, including through a spouse’s or parent’s private-sector job. Both self-funded employer plans and plans purchased from an insurance company may qualify. Government employee plans and certain church plans generally are not governed by ERISA. If you are unsure, we can usually determine whether your plan qualifies from your SPD, insurance card, benefits guide, or other plan documents.

If you paid more for employer health coverage or lost another health-plan benefit because you did not complete a biometric screening or health assessment, we would like to hear from you.

Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or call us at (202) 470-3520.

Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that represents employees and consumers in class-action litigation nationwide.