Wellness programs strong-arm employees into giving up health info, suit says

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Usually, it’s illegal for employers to ask you to fork over your private medical information, which protects you from discrimination based on a medical condition or disability. But new so-called wellness programs, aimed at curbing healthcare costs among employees, are making it harder and harder for employees not to give up that sensitive info. Some organizations, like AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans, say the practice has now crossed a line.

On Monday, AARP filed a lawsuit against the federal agency that sets the rules for those wellness programs, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The suit argues that new rules set to take effect in 2017 will violate the anti-discrimination laws that protect the privacy of medical information because they set incentives to participate in the programs too high. That is, employees that don’t want to reveal their medical history could potentially miss out on thousands of dollars in health insurance deals—money some employees may not be able to refuse for personal financial reasons.

Thus, AARP members “face imminent harm flowing directly from the rules because the rules will cause them to either incur significant financial penalties or divulge… protected health and genetic information when they do not wish to do so,” the suit reads. “That information, once revealed, will never be confidential again.”