Notice Regarding Ball State University’s Wellness Program
Ball State University has a voluntary wellness program available to all employees. The program is administered according to federal rules permitting employer-sponsored wellness programs that seek to improve employee health and prevent disease, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination act of 2008, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as applicable, among others. If you wish to receive the wellness program incentives, you will be asked to complete a voluntary Life Health Assessment or “LHA” that asks a series of questions about your health-related activities and behavior and whether you have or had certain medical conditions (e.g., cancer, diabetes, or heart disease). You may complete a biometric screening, which will include: height, weight, blood pressure, and a blood test for cholesterol and glucose. You are not required to complete the LHA or to participate in the blood test or other medical examinations.
Employees and their spouses that choose to participate in the LHA, complete an annual physical with their physician, and have chosen university medical insurance coverage for 2017, will receive a year-end one-time incentive of $50. Although you are not required to complete these activities, only benefits-eligible employees/spouses enrolled in the university medical insurance will receive the incentive.
Additional incentives of $90, up to a maximum reward of $180 per year, are available for Wellness Program participants who meet participation guidelines which may include but are not limited to physical activity, nutrition or weight management, stress management, and education courses. If you are unable to meet our participation guidelines to earn the Wellness Program Incentive, you may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation or an alternative standard. You may request a reasonable accommodation or an alternative standard by contacting Working Well at 765-285-9355.
The information from your biometric screening data will be used to provide you with information to help you understand your current health and potential risks. You also are encouraged to share your results or concerns with your own health care provider.
Protections from Disclosure of Medical Information
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your personally identifiable health information. Although the wellness program and Ball State University may use aggregate information we collect to design a program based on identified health risks in the workplace, the wellness program and its vendors will never disclose any of your personal information either publicly or to the University, except as necessary to respond to a request from you for a reasonable accommodation needed to participate in the wellness program, or as expressly permitted by law. Medical information that personally identifies you that is provided in conjunction with the wellness program will not be provided to your supervisors or managers and may never be used to make decisions regarding your employment.
Your health information will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or otherwise disclosed except to the extent permitted by law to carry out specific activities related to the wellness program, and you will not be asked or required to waive the confidentiality of your health information as a condition of participating in the wellness program or receiving an incentive. Anyone who receives your information for purposes of providing you services as part of the wellness program will abide by the same confidentiality requirements. The only individual(s) who will receive your personally identifiable health information are authorized providers utilized by the University’s Working Well Staff if you choose to participate in a biometric screening in order to provide you with services under the wellness program.