I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1897 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit to 

employers for the costs of implementing wellness programs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself and Mrs. BONO MACK) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

a tax credit to employers for the costs of implementing 

wellness programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Workforce Act 

5 of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The United States has more than 12 million 

2 employers and approximately 135 million working 

3 adults. 

4 (2) The use of effective worksite policies and 

5 programs can reduce health risks and improve the 

6 quality of life for the 135 million full-time and part7 time workers in the United States. 

8 (3) Workers spend more than one-third of their 

9 day on the job and, as a result, employers are in a 

10 unique position to promote the health and safety of 

11 their employees. 

12 (4) Chronic diseases such as heart disease, 

13 stroke, cancer, obesity, and diabetes are among the 

14 most prevalent and costly worker health problems 

15 for most employers. 

16 (5) The use by employers of effective worksite 

17 policies and programs can reduce health risks and 

18 improve the quality of life for their employees. 

19 (6) The good health of workers is good for busi20 ness because healthier workers miss less work, are 

21 more productive, and have lower health care costs. 

22 SEC. 3. TAX CREDIT TO EMPLOYERS FOR COSTS OF IMPLE23 MENTING WELLNESS PROGRAMS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub25 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

2 adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 45R. WELLNESS PROGRAM CREDIT. 

4 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 

6 the wellness program credit determined under this 

7 section for any taxable year during the credit period 

8 with respect to an employer is an amount equal to 

9 50 percent of the costs paid or incurred by the em10 ployer in connection with a qualified wellness pro11 gram during the taxable year. For purposes of the 

12 preceding sentence, in the case of any qualified 

13 wellness program offered as part of an employer-pro14 vided group health plan, including health insurance 

15 offered in connection with such plan, only costs at16 tributable to the qualified wellness program and not 

17 to the group health plan or health insurance cov18 erage may be taken into account.

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount of credit al20 lowed under paragraph (1) for any taxable year shall 

21 not exceed the sum of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the product of $200 and the number 

23 of employees of the employer not in excess of 

24 200 employees, plus 


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1 ‘‘(B) the product of $100 and the number 

2 of employees of the employer in excess of 200 

3 employees. 

4 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED WELLNESS PROGRAM.—For pur5 poses of this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED WELLNESS PROGRAM.—The 

7 term ‘qualified wellness program’ means a program 

8 which— 

9 ‘‘(A) consists of any 3 of the wellness pro10 gram components described in subsection (c), 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) which is certified by the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services, in coordination 

14 with the Director of the Center for Disease 

15 Control and Prevention, as a qualified wellness 

16 program under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) PROGRAMS MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH

18 RESEARCH AND BEST PRACTICES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services shall not certify a 

21 program as a qualified wellness program unless 

22 the program— 

23 ‘‘(i) is consistent with evidence-based 

24 research and best practices, as identified 


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1 by persons with expertise in employer 

2 health promotion and wellness programs, 

3 ‘‘(ii) includes multiple, evidence-based 

4 strategies which are based on the existing 

5 and emerging research and careful sci6 entific reviews, including the Guide to 

7 Community Preventive Services, the Guide 

8 to Clinical Preventive Services, and the 

9 National Registry for Effective Programs, 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iii) includes strategies which focus 

12 on employee populations with a dispropor13 tionate burden of health problems. 

14 ‘‘(B) PERIODIC UPDATING AND REVIEW.— 

15 The Secretary of Health and Human Services 

16 shall establish procedures for periodic review of 

17 programs under this subsection. Such proce18 dures shall require revisions of programs if nec19 essary to ensure compliance with the require20 ments of this section and require updating of 

21 the programs to the extent the Secretary, in co22 ordination with the Director of the Centers for 

23 Disease Control and Prevention, determines 

24 necessary to reflect new scientific findings. 


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1 ‘‘(3) HEALTH LITERACY.—The Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services shall, as part of the 

3 certification process, encourage employees to make 

4 the programs culturally competent and to meet the 

5 health literacy needs of the employees covered by the 

6 programs. 

7 ‘‘(c) WELLNESS PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—For pur8 poses of this section, the wellness program components de9 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) HEALTH AWARENESS COMPONENT.—A 

11 health awareness component which provides for the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) HEALTH EDUCATION.—The dissemi14 nation of health information which addresses 

15 the specific needs and health risks of employees. 

16 ‘‘(B) HEALTH SCREENINGS.—The oppor17 tunity for periodic screenings for health prob18 lems and referrals for appropriate follow up 

19 measures. 

20 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT COMPONENT.— 

21 An employee engagement component which provides 

22 for— 

23 ‘‘(A) the establishment of a committee to 

24 actively engage employees in worksite wellness 

25 programs through worksite assessments and 


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1 program planning, delivery, evaluation, and im2 provement efforts, and 

3 ‘‘(B) the tracking of employee participa4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(3) BEHAVIORAL CHANGE COMPONENT.—A 

6 behavioral change component which provides for al7 tering employee lifestyles to encourage healthy living 

8 through counseling, seminars, on-line programs, or 

9 self-help materials which provide technical assistance 

10 and problem solving skills. Such component may in11 clude programs relating to— 

12 ‘‘(A) tobacco use, 

13 ‘‘(B) obesity, 

14 ‘‘(C) stress management, 

15 ‘‘(D) physical fitness, 

16 ‘‘(E) nutrition, 

17 ‘‘(F) substance abuse, 

18 ‘‘(G) depression, and 

19 ‘‘(H) mental health promotion (including 

20 anxiety). 

21 ‘‘(4) SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT COMPO22 NENT.—A supportive environment component which 

23 includes the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) ON-SITE POLICIES.—Policies and 

2 services at the worksite which promote a 

3 healthy lifestyle, including policies relating to— 

4 ‘‘(i) tobacco use at the worksite, 

5 ‘‘(ii) the nutrition of food available at 

6 the worksite through cafeterias and vend7 ing options, 

8 ‘‘(iii) minimizing stress and promoting 

9 positive mental health in the workplace, 

10 ‘‘(iv) where applicable, accessible and 

11 attractive stairs, and 

12 ‘‘(v) the encouragement of physical 

13 activity before, during, and after work 

14 hours. 

15 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION INCENTIVES.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Qualified incentive 

17 benefits for each employee who participates 

18 in the health screenings described in para19 graph (1)(B) or the behavioral change pro20 grams described in paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED INCENTIVE BEN22 EFIT.—For purposes of clause (i), the 

23 term ‘qualified incentive benefit’ means 

24 any benefit which is approved by the Sec25 retary of Health and Human Services, in 


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1 coordination with the Director of the Cen2 ters for Disease Control and Prevention. 

3 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE INPUT.—The opportunity 

4 for employees to participate in the management 

5 of any qualified wellness program to which this 

6 section applies. 

7 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No credit shall be allowed 

9 under subsection (a) unless the Secretary of Health 

10 and Human Services, in coordination with the Direc11 tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven12 tion, certifies, as a part of any certification described 

13 in subsection (b), that each wellness program compo14 nent of the qualified wellness program applies to all 

15 qualified employees of the employer. The Secretary 

16 of Health and Human Services shall prescribe rules 

17 under which an employer shall not be treated as fail18 ing to meet the requirements of this subsection 

19 merely because the employer provides specialized 

20 programs for employees with specific health needs or 

21 unusual employment requirements or provides a 

22 pilot program to test new wellness strategies. 

23 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of 

24 paragraph (1), the term ‘qualified employee’ 

25 means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for employers offering health insur2 ance coverage, an employee who is eligible for 

3 such coverage, or 

4 ‘‘(B) for employers not offering health in5 surance coverage, an employee who works an 

6 average of not less than 25 hours per week dur7 ing the taxable year. 

8 ‘‘(e) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 

9 For purposes of this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PARTNERS AND PARTNERSHIPS.— 

12 The term ‘employee’ includes a partner and the 

13 term ‘employer’ includes a partnership. 

14 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules 

15 similar to the rules of section 52 shall apply. 

16 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN COSTS NOT INCLUDED.—Costs 

17 paid or incurred by an employer for food or health 

18 insurance shall not be taken into account under sub19 section (a). 

20 ‘‘(3) NO CREDIT WHERE GRANT AWARDED.— 

21 No credit shall be allowable under subsection (a) 

22 with respect to any qualified wellness program of 

23 any taxpayer (other than an eligible employer de24 scribed in subsection (f)(2)(A)) who receives a grant 

25 provided by the United States, a State, or a political 


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1 subdivision of a State for use in connection with 

2 such program. The Secretary shall prescribe rules 

3 providing for the waiver of this paragraph with re4 spect to any grant which does not constitute a sig5 nificant portion of the funding for the qualified 

6 wellness program. 

7 ‘‘(4) CREDIT PERIOD.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘credit pe9 riod’ means the period of 10 consecutive taxable 

10 years beginning with the taxable year in which 

11 the qualified wellness program is first certified 

12 under this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR EXISTING PRO14 GRAMS.—In the case of an employer (or prede15 cessor) which operates a wellness program for 

16 its employees on the date of the enactment of 

17 this section, subparagraph (A) shall be applied 

18 by substituting ‘3 consecutive taxable years’ for 

19 ‘10 consecutive taxable years’. The Secretary 

20 shall prescribe rules under which this sub21 section shall not apply if an employer is re22 quired to make substantial modifications in the 

23 existing wellness program in order to qualify 

24 such program for certification as a qualified 

25 wellness program. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—For pur2 poses of this paragraph, all persons treated as 

3 a single employer under subsection (b), (c), 

4 (m), or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a 

5 single employer. 

6 ‘‘(f) PORTION OF CREDIT MADE REFUNDABLE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible 

8 employer of an employee, the aggregate credits al9 lowed to a taxpayer under subpart C shall be in10 creased by the lesser of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the credit which would be allowed 

12 under this section without regard to this sub13 section and the limitation under section 38(c), 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) the amount by which the aggregate 

16 amount of credits allowed by this subpart (de17 termined without regard to this subsection) 

18 would increase if the limitation imposed by sec19 tion 38(c) for any taxable year were increased 

20 by the amount of employer payroll taxes im21 posed on the taxpayer during the calendar year 

22 in which the taxable year begins. 

23 The amount of the credit allowed under this sub24 section shall not be treated as a credit allowed under 

25 this subpart and shall reduce the amount of the 


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1 credit otherwise allowable under subsection (a) with2 out regard to section 38(c). 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.—For purposes of 

4 this subsection, the term ‘eligible employer’ means 

5 an employer which is— 

6 ‘‘(A) a State or political subdivision there7 of, the District of Columbia, a possession of the 

8 United States, or an agency or instrumentality 

9 of any of the foregoing, or 

10 ‘‘(B) any organization described in section 

11 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

12 which is exempt from taxation under section 

13 501(a) of such Code. 

14 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAXES.—For pur15 poses of this subsection— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer 

17 payroll taxes’ means the taxes imposed by— 

18 ‘‘(i) section 3111(b), and 

19 ‘‘(ii) sections 3211(a) and 3221(a) 

20 (determined at a rate equal to the rate 

21 under section 3111(b)). 

22 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—A rule similar to 

23 the rule of section 24(d)(2)(C) shall apply for 

24 purposes of subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

2 any amount paid or incurred after December 31, 2017.’’. 

3 (b) TREATMENT AS GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.— 

4 Subsection (b) of section 38 of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986 (relating to general business credit) is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (34), by strik7 ing the period at the end of paragraph (35) and inserting 

8 ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(36) the wellness program credit determined 

10 under section 45R.’’. 

11 (c) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Section 280C of 

12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to certain 

13 expenses for which credits are allowable) is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(g) WELLNESS PROGRAM CREDIT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be al17 lowed for that portion of the costs paid or incurred 

18 for a qualified wellness program (within the meaning 

19 of section 45R) allowable as a deduction for the tax20 able year which is equal to the amount of the credit 

21 allowable for the taxable year under section 45R. 

22 ‘‘(2) SIMILAR RULE WHERE TAXPAYER CAP23 ITALIZES RATHER THAN DEDUCTS EXPENSES.—If— 

24 ‘‘(A) the amount of the credit determined 

25 for the taxable year under section 45R, exceeds 


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1 ‘‘(B) the amount allowable as a deduction 

2 for such taxable year for a qualified wellness 

3 program, 

4 the amount chargeable to capital account for the 

5 taxable year for such expenses shall be reduced by 

6 the amount of such excess. 

7 ‘‘(3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—In the case of a 

8 corporation which is a member of a controlled group 

9 of corporations (within the meaning of section 

10 41(f)(5)) or a trade or business which is treated as 

11 being under common control with other trades or 

12 business (within the meaning of section 

13 41(f)(1)(B)), this subsection shall be applied under 

14 rules prescribed by the Secretary similar to the rules 

15 applicable under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sec16 tion 41(f)(1).’’. 

17 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

19 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 45R. Wellness program credit.’’. 

21 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

23 December 31, 2009. 

24 (f) OUTREACH.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas2 ury, in conjunction with the Director of the Centers 

3 for Disease Control and members of the business 

4 community, shall institute an outreach program to 

5 inform businesses about the availability of the 

6 wellness program credit under section 45R of the In7 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 as well as to educate 

8 businesses on how to develop programs according to 

9 recognized and promising practices and on how to 

10 measure the success of implemented programs. 

11 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

13 as are necessary to carry out the outreach program 

14 described in paragraph (1). 

Æ 


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