Penalties, incentives and wellness programs after HIPAA.

In the aftermath of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), employers need to carefully examine their wellness programs and in particular the incentives or penalties they have installed to encourage employees to adopt healthy lifestyles. Employers should look at the reasons they offer discounts, exclusions and wellness programs and assess how effective these measures are. They may want to replace them with "positive" approaches such as health fairs and education programs.