Obama administration to remove hurdle to ‘wellness’ penalties

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) – In what would be a significant and hard-fought victory for U.S. businesses, the Obama administration on Thursday said it will propose new rules for workplace wellness programs that would treat as voluntary programs that penalize workers thousands of dollars for not participating. The programs have expanded recently because President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law of 2010 allows employers to charge non-participants 30 percent more for health coverage, including premiums and deductibles, which can amount to thousands of dollars.
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