Health premium discounts OK as COVID vaccine incentive, say feds

A new fed FAQ clarifies that your company can offer employees a vaccine incentive via their health insurance premiums.

The FAQS about Affordable Care Act Implementation Part 50, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Implementation spell it all out.

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and
the Treasury put them out collectively last week.

This new vaccine incentive can help employers that still have unvaccinated employees, despite the looming mandate from President Biden.

However, you must work within certain conditions to be able to employ this strategy. Take a look.

Vaccine incentive must meet these 5 criteria

To take advantage of the vaccine incentive, your company must meet the criteria for activity-only wellness programs. Five criteria to meet:

1. You must “reasonably” design your program to promote health or prevent disease.
2. You must provide a reasonable alternative standard to qualify for the discount. The feds’ example: A wellness program may offer a waiver or the right to attest to following other COVID-19-related guidelines to certain individuals. These are folks for whom it is unreasonably difficult due to a medical condition or medically inadvisable to obtain the vaccination to qualify for the full reward.
3. The plan must also provide notice of the availability of that reasonable
   alternative standard under the wellness program.
4. The reward tied to the vaccine incentive program can’t exceed 30% of the total cost of employee-only health coverage, and finally
5. Eligible individuals must have the opportunity to qualify for the reward under the program at least once per year.