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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Workforce Act 
of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The United States has more than 12 million 
employers and approximately 135 million working 
adults. 
(2) The use of effective worksite policies and 
programs can reduce health risks and improve the 
quality of life for the 135 million full-time and part- 
time workers in the United States. 
(3) Workers spend more than one-third of their 
day on the job and, as a result, employers are in a 
unique position to promote the health and safety of 
their employees. 
(4) Chronic diseases such as heart disease, 
stroke, cancer, obesity, and diabetes are among the 
most prevalent and costly worker health problems 
for most employers. 
(5) The use by employers of effective worksite 
policies and programs can reduce health risks and 
improve the quality of life for their employees. 
(6) The good health of workers is good for busi-
ness because healthier workers miss less work, are 
more productive, and have lower health care costs. 
SEC. 3. TAX CREDIT TO EMPLOYERS FOR COSTS OF IMPLE-
MENTING WELLNESS PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
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1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 45R. WELLNESS PROGRAM CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 
the wellness program credit determined under this 
section for any taxable year during the credit period 
with respect to an employer is an amount equal to 
50 percent of the costs paid or incurred by the em-
ployer in connection with a qualified wellness pro-
gram during the taxable year. For purposes of the 
preceding sentence, in the case of any qualified 
wellness program offered as part of an employer-pro-
vided group health plan, including health insurance 
offered in connection with such plan, only costs at-
tributable to the qualified wellness program and not 
to the group health plan or health insurance cov-
erage may be taken into account.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount of credit al-
lowed under paragraph (1) for any taxable year shall 
not exceed the sum of— 
‘‘(A) the product of $200 and the number 
of employees of the employer not in excess of 
200 employees, plus 
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‘‘(B) the product of $100 and the number 
of employees of the employer in excess of 200 
employees. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED WELLNESS PROGRAM.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) QUALIFIED
WELLNESS
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘qualified wellness program’ means a program 
which— 
‘‘(A) consists of any 3 of the wellness pro-
gram components described in subsection (c), 
and 
‘‘(B) which is certified by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, in coordination 
with the Director of the Center for Disease 
Control and Prevention, as a qualified wellness 
program under this section. 
‘‘(2) PROGRAMS MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH 
RESEARCH AND BEST PRACTICES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall not certify a 
program as a qualified wellness program unless 
the program— 
‘‘(i) is consistent with evidence-based 
research and best practices, as identified 
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by persons with expertise in employer 
health promotion and wellness programs, 
‘‘(ii) includes multiple, evidence-based 
strategies which are based on the existing 
and emerging research and careful sci-
entific reviews, including the Guide to 
Community Preventive Services, the Guide 
to Clinical Preventive Services, and the 
National Registry for Effective Programs, 
and 
‘‘(iii) includes strategies which focus 
on employee populations with a dispropor-
tionate burden of health problems. 
‘‘(B) PERIODIC UPDATING AND REVIEW.— 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall establish procedures for periodic review of 
programs under this subsection. Such proce-
dures shall require revisions of programs if nec-
essary to ensure compliance with the require-
ments of this section and require updating of 
the programs to the extent the Secretary, in co-
ordination with the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, determines 
necessary to reflect new scientific findings. 
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‘‘(3) HEALTH
LITERACY.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall, as part of the 
certification process, encourage employees to make 
the programs culturally competent and to meet the 
health literacy needs of the employees covered by the 
programs. 
‘‘(c) WELLNESS PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—For pur-
poses of this section, the wellness program components de-
scribed in this subsection are the following: 
‘‘(1) HEALTH
AWARENESS
COMPONENT.—A 
health awareness component which provides for the 
following: 
‘‘(A) HEALTH EDUCATION.—The dissemi-
nation of health information which addresses 
the specific needs and health risks of employees. 
‘‘(B) HEALTH SCREENINGS.—The oppor-
tunity for periodic screenings for health prob-
lems and referrals for appropriate follow up 
measures. 
‘‘(2) EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT COMPONENT.— 
An employee engagement component which provides 
for— 
‘‘(A) the establishment of a committee to 
actively engage employees in worksite wellness 
programs through worksite assessments and 
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program planning, delivery, evaluation, and im-
provement efforts, and 
‘‘(B) the tracking of employee participa-
tion. 
‘‘(3) BEHAVIORAL
CHANGE
COMPONENT.—A 
behavioral change component which provides for al-
tering employee lifestyles to encourage healthy living 
through counseling, seminars, on-line programs, or 
self-help materials which provide technical assistance 
and problem solving skills. Such component may in-
clude programs relating to— 
‘‘(A) tobacco use, 
‘‘(B) obesity, 
‘‘(C) stress management, 
‘‘(D) physical fitness, 
‘‘(E) nutrition, 
‘‘(F) substance abuse, 
‘‘(G) depression, and 
‘‘(H) mental health promotion (including 
anxiety). 
‘‘(4) 
SUPPORTIVE
ENVIRONMENT
COMPO-
NENT.—A supportive environment component which 
includes the following: 
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‘‘(A) ON-SITE
POLICIES.—Policies and 
services at the worksite which promote a 
healthy lifestyle, including policies relating to— 
‘‘(i) tobacco use at the worksite, 
‘‘(ii) the nutrition of food available at 
the worksite through cafeterias and vend-
ing options, 
‘‘(iii) minimizing stress and promoting 
positive mental health in the workplace, 
‘‘(iv) where applicable, accessible and 
attractive stairs, and 
‘‘(v) the encouragement of physical 
activity before, during, and after work 
hours. 
‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION INCENTIVES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Qualified incentive 
benefits for each employee who participates 
in the health screenings described in para-
graph (1)(B) or the behavioral change pro-
grams described in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED
INCENTIVE
BEN-
EFIT.—For purposes of clause (i), the 
term ‘qualified incentive benefit’ means 
any benefit which is approved by the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, in 
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coordination with the Director of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention. 
‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE INPUT.—The opportunity 
for employees to participate in the management 
of any qualified wellness program to which this 
section applies. 
‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No credit shall be allowed 
under subsection (a) unless the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, in coordination with the Direc-
tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, certifies, as a part of any certification described 
in subsection (b), that each wellness program compo-
nent of the qualified wellness program applies to all 
qualified employees of the employer. The Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall prescribe rules 
under which an employer shall not be treated as fail-
ing to meet the requirements of this subsection 
merely because the employer provides specialized 
programs for employees with specific health needs or 
unusual employment requirements or provides a 
pilot program to test new wellness strategies. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of 
paragraph 
(1), 
the 
term 
‘qualified 
employee’ 
means— 
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‘‘(A) for employers offering health insur-
ance coverage, an employee who is eligible for 
such coverage, or 
‘‘(B) for employers not offering health in-
surance coverage, an employee who works an 
average of not less than 25 hours per week dur-
ing the taxable year. 
‘‘(e) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 
For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER.— 
‘‘(A) PARTNERS
AND
PARTNERSHIPS.— 
The term ‘employee’ includes a partner and the 
term ‘employer’ includes a partnership. 
‘‘(B) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules 
similar to the rules of section 52 shall apply. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
COSTS
NOT
INCLUDED.—Costs 
paid or incurred by an employer for food or health 
insurance shall not be taken into account under sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(3) NO CREDIT WHERE GRANT AWARDED.— 
No credit shall be allowable under subsection (a) 
with respect to any qualified wellness program of 
any taxpayer (other than an eligible employer de-
scribed in subsection (f)(2)(A)) who receives a grant 
provided by the United States, a State, or a political 
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subdivision of a State for use in connection with 
such program. The Secretary shall prescribe rules 
providing for the waiver of this paragraph with re-
spect to any grant which does not constitute a sig-
nificant portion of the funding for the qualified 
wellness program. 
‘‘(4) CREDIT PERIOD.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘credit pe-
riod’ means the period of 10 consecutive taxable 
years beginning with the taxable year in which 
the qualified wellness program is first certified 
under this section. 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR EXISTING PRO-
GRAMS.—In the case of an employer (or prede-
cessor) which operates a wellness program for 
its employees on the date of the enactment of 
this section, subparagraph (A) shall be applied 
by substituting ‘3 consecutive taxable years’ for 
‘10 consecutive taxable years’. The Secretary 
shall prescribe rules under which this sub-
section shall not apply if an employer is re-
quired to make substantial modifications in the 
existing wellness program in order to qualify 
such program for certification as a qualified 
wellness program. 
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‘‘(C) CONTROLLED
GROUPS.—For pur-
poses of this paragraph, all persons treated as 
a single employer under subsection (b), (c), 
(m), or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a 
single employer. 
‘‘(f) PORTION OF CREDIT MADE REFUNDABLE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible 
employer of an employee, the aggregate credits al-
lowed to a taxpayer under subpart C shall be in-
creased by the lesser of— 
‘‘(A) the credit which would be allowed 
under this section without regard to this sub-
section and the limitation under section 38(c), 
or 
‘‘(B) the amount by which the aggregate 
amount of credits allowed by this subpart (de-
termined without regard to this subsection) 
would increase if the limitation imposed by sec-
tion 38(c) for any taxable year were increased 
by the amount of employer payroll taxes im-
posed on the taxpayer during the calendar year 
in which the taxable year begins. 
The amount of the credit allowed under this sub-
section shall not be treated as a credit allowed under 
this subpart and shall reduce the amount of the 
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credit otherwise allowable under subsection (a) with-
out regard to section 38(c). 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
EMPLOYER.—For purposes of 
this subsection, the term ‘eligible employer’ means 
an employer which is— 
‘‘(A) a State or political subdivision there-
of, the District of Columbia, a possession of the 
United States, or an agency or instrumentality 
of any of the foregoing, or 
‘‘(B) any organization described in section 
501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
which is exempt from taxation under section 
501(a) of such Code. 
‘‘(3) EMPLOYER
PAYROLL
TAXES.—For pur-
poses of this subsection— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘employer 
payroll taxes’ means the taxes imposed by— 
‘‘(i) section 3111(b), and 
‘‘(ii) sections 3211(a) and 3221(a) 
(determined at a rate equal to the rate 
under section 3111(b)). 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL
RULE.—A rule similar to 
the rule of section 24(d)(2)(C) shall apply for 
purposes of subparagraph (A). 
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‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 
any amount paid or incurred after December 31, 2017.’’. 
(b) TREATMENT AS GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.— 
Subsection (b) of section 38 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (relating to general business credit) is amended 
by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (34), by strik-
ing the period at the end of paragraph (35) and inserting 
‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(36) the wellness program credit determined 
under section 45R.’’. 
(c) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Section 280C of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to certain 
expenses for which credits are allowable) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(g) WELLNESS PROGRAM CREDIT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be al-
lowed for that portion of the costs paid or incurred 
for a qualified wellness program (within the meaning 
of section 45R) allowable as a deduction for the tax-
able year which is equal to the amount of the credit 
allowable for the taxable year under section 45R. 
‘‘(2) SIMILAR
RULE
WHERE
TAXPAYER
CAP-
ITALIZES RATHER THAN DEDUCTS EXPENSES.—If— 
‘‘(A) the amount of the credit determined 
for the taxable year under section 45R, exceeds 
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‘‘(B) the amount allowable as a deduction 
for such taxable year for a qualified wellness 
program, 
the amount chargeable to capital account for the 
taxable year for such expenses shall be reduced by 
the amount of such excess. 
‘‘(3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—In the case of a 
corporation which is a member of a controlled group 
of corporations (within the meaning of section 
41(f)(5)) or a trade or business which is treated as 
being under common control with other trades or 
business 
(within 
the 
meaning 
of 
section 
41(f)(1)(B)), this subsection shall be applied under 
rules prescribed by the Secretary similar to the rules 
applicable under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sec-
tion 41(f)(1).’’. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘Sec. 45R. Wellness program credit.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2009. 
(f) OUTREACH.— 
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