§ 56-8-112 — Voluntary wellness or health improvement program using incentives or rewards

(a) An insurer issuing a group or individual benefit plan may offer a voluntary wellness or health improvement program that uses incentives or rewards, or any combination of incentives or rewards, to encourage or reward a plan member's participation in the program. Such incentives and rewards may include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) Merchandise; (2) Gift cards; (3) Debit cards; (4) Premium discounts or rebates; (5) Contributions towards a plan member's health savings account; or (6) Modifications to co-payment, deductible, or co-insurance amounts. (b) If an incentive or reward established pursuant to this section is disclosed in the insurer's policy or certificate, then giving, or offering to give, the incentive or reward to a plan member shall not constitute a violation of § 56-8-104(8) . (c) An insurer may require a plan member to provide verification to the insurer that the plan member has a medical condition that makes the plan member's participation in the program unreasonably difficult or medically inadvisable prior to establishing a reasonable alternative standard for obtaining an incentive or reward. (d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an insurer from offering or giving an incentive or reward to a plan member to encourage or reward the member's participation in a voluntary wellness or health improvement program if additional incentives or rewards, or uses of incentives or rewards, are otherwise permitted by state or federal law.

Legislative History

Acts 2011, ch. 118, § 1.