Editorial, Opinion Pieces Address Wellness Programs Legislation

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 01 Oct 2007 - 5:00 PST

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The Tennessean on Thursday published an editorial and several opinion pieces about the Healthy Workforce Act of 2007. The legislation would provide businesses a tax credit worth 50% of costs per employee for wellness and preventive health care services. Companies would receive a tax credit of up to $200 for the first 200 employees participating in a wellness program and up to $100 per employee thereafter. To qualify for the program, businesses would have to provide programs that meet at least three of four criteria, including events to raise awareness and screen for health risks; seminars to boost behavioral change; incentives for participants; and a committee to oversee the wellness program (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/10). Summaries appear below.

Editorial

• Tennessean: The measure is an "incentive to health and health care savings in the long term for many Americans" that "merits serious consideration," a Tennessean editorial states. According to the editorial, "If approved, the bill could help turn the tide both in spiraling health care costs and in illnesses that are preventable by lifestyle," even though it could be a "hard sell, chiefly because Americans are reluctant to give up their bad habits" (Tennessean, 9/27).

Opinion Pieces

• Ernest Clevenger: "The development of this act is a clear indication that the government has begun taking steps to address the national health care crisis by acknowledging the preventive health needs of the American population and striving to reduce the monumental costs associated with the treatment of chronic disorders, such as heart disease and diabetes, that have reached epidemic status" in the U.S., Clevenger, president of CareHere, writes in a Tennessean opinion piece. He also notes that U.S. employers are in a "unique position to impact the quality of life and overall wellness of their employees" (Clevenger, Tennessean, 9/27).
  
  
• Janet Rachel: The proposed legislation is an "innovative, creative and effective way to deal with our country's health care crisis," Rachel, associate vice president of human resources at Meharry Medical College, writes in a Tennessean opinion piece. She adds, "If properly implemented, the act has the potential to positively impact current and future generations of employees -- who really are the fabric of our nation" (Tennessean, 9/27).
  
  
• Henry Ross: The measure "simply makes sense," Ross, CEO of Aegis, writes in a Tennessean opinion piece. According to Ross, wellness programs "have been offered for years by local health care organizations such as hospitals that are committed to building healthier communities," so under the proposal, small and mid-sized businesses would "have an option for importing wellness programs" (Ross, Tennessean, 9/27).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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