EMPCO Employee Health & Wellness 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which component is considered the foundation of a comprehensive employee wellness program?
- Health risk assessments (Correct answer)
- Free gym memberships
- Catered healthy lunches
- Standing desk allowances
Correct answer: Health risk assessments
Health risk assessments identify individual employee health risks and serve as the data-driven foundation for designing targeted wellness interventions.
Question 2: An employer's wellness program offers a 20% premium discount for completing a biometric screening. Under HIPAA wellness rules, this incentive is:
- Permissible if the program meets HIPAA participatory or health-contingent requirements (Correct answer)
- Always prohibited as discriminatory
- Only allowed if state law specifically authorizes it
- Required to be offered in cash instead of premium reductions
Correct answer: Permissible if the program meets HIPAA participatory or health-contingent requirements
HIPAA allows incentives up to 30% of the cost of employee-only coverage for health-contingent wellness programs that meet specific requirements.
Question 3: Which federal law primarily governs the confidentiality of employee medical records obtained through workplace wellness programs?
- ADA and HIPAA together (Correct answer)
- FMLA
- Workers' Compensation Act
- OSHA Recordkeeping Standard
Correct answer: ADA and HIPAA together
Both the ADA (which limits employer inquiries and requires confidential handling) and HIPAA (when a covered entity is involved) protect employee medical information gathered through wellness programs.
Question 4: A preventive health screening reveals an employee has pre-hypertension. The occupational health nurse's BEST immediate action is:
- Counsel the employee and recommend follow-up with a primary care physician (Correct answer)
- Immediately remove the employee from duty
- Notify the employee's supervisor of the finding
- Prescribe antihypertensive medication
Correct answer: Counsel the employee and recommend follow-up with a primary care physician
The occupational health nurse should counsel the employee and refer them to a primary care provider, as prescribing medication is outside nursing scope and disclosure to supervisors violates confidentiality.
Question 5: Which metric is MOST useful for evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of an employee wellness program?
- Reduction in healthcare claims costs over time (Correct answer)
- Number of employees who signed up
- Employee satisfaction survey scores
- Number of wellness events held per quarter
Correct answer: Reduction in healthcare claims costs over time
Reduction in healthcare claims costs is the primary financial metric used to calculate ROI for wellness programs, as it directly measures economic impact.
Question 6: Body Mass Index (BMI) is used in employee health screenings primarily to:
- Screen for weight categories that may correlate with health risks (Correct answer)
- Determine an employee's exact body fat percentage
- Replace blood pressure as a cardiovascular risk indicator
- Diagnose obesity-related diseases definitively
Correct answer: Screen for weight categories that may correlate with health risks
BMI is a screening tool that categorizes weight status and identifies employees who may be at increased risk for conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes a 'participatory' wellness program under HIPAA regulations?
- A program that rewards participation regardless of health outcomes (Correct answer)
- A program that offers incentives only to employees who achieve specific health targets
- A program mandated by the employer as a condition of employment
- A program exclusively available to employees with chronic conditions
Correct answer: A program that rewards participation regardless of health outcomes
Participatory wellness programs provide incentives simply for participating (e.g., completing a health risk assessment) without requiring employees to meet specific health standards.
EMPCO Employee Health & Wellness 2
Which component is considered the foundation of a comprehensive employee wellness program?