Legal Notices

Notice Regarding the Strive for Wellness® Program

Strive for Wellness® is a voluntary program available to active Missouri state employees with Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP) medical coverage. The Strive for Wellness® Program is administered according to federal rules permitting employer-sponsored wellness programs that seek to improve employee health or 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 choose to participate in the wellness program you will be asked to complete a voluntary Health Assessment/Quiz that asks a series of questions about your health-related activities and behaviors and whether you have or had certain medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, or heart disease). You are not required to complete the Health Assessment/Quiz.

However, eligible subscribers who choose to participate in the wellness program will receive a premium reduction of $25 monthly for agreeing to participate in the Partnership Incentive, completing the Health Assessment/Quiz. Although you are not required to complete the Health Assessment/Quiz, only employees who do so will receive the Partnership Incentive of $25 a month.

Partnership Incentive participants can receive a t-shirt for completing a health-related activity such as an annual preventive exam or regularly exercising. If you are unable to participate in any of the MCHCP-approved health-related activities you may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation or an alternative standard. You may request a reasonable accommodation or an alternative standard by contacting MCHCP at 800-487-0771.

The information from your Health Assessment/Quiz will be used to provide you with information to help you understand your current health and potential risks. You are encouraged to share your Health Assessment/Quiz results or concerns with your health care provider.

Protections from Disclosure of Medical Information

MCHCP is required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your personally identifiable health information. Although the Strive for Wellness® Program and MCHCP may use aggregate information it collects to design a program based on identified health risks in the workplace, Strive for Wellness® will never disclose any of your personal information either publicly or to the employer, except as necessary to respond to a request from you for a reasonable accommodation needed to participate in the Strive for Wellness® Program, or as expressly permitted by law. Medical information that personally identifies you that is provided in connection with the Strive for Wellness® Program will not be provided to your supervisors or managers and may never be used to make decisions regarding your employment or health benefits.

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 Strive for 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 Strive for Wellness® Program or receiving the Partnership Incentive. Anyone who receives your information for purposes of providing you services as part of the Strive for Wellness® Program will abide by the same confidentiality requirements. The only individuals who will have access to your personally identifiable health information are MCHCP Information Technology and Clinical Staff and only if accessing your personally identifiable health information is needed to potentially provide you with services under the Strive for Wellness® Program.

In addition, all medical information obtained through the wellness program will be maintained separate from your personnel records, the identity of information stored electronically will be encrypted, and no information you provide as part of the wellness program will be used in making any employment decision. Appropriate precautions will be taken to avoid any data breach, and in the event a data breach occurs involving information you provide in connection with the wellness program, we will notify you immediately.

You may not be discriminated against in employment because of the medical information you provide as part of participating in the Strive for Wellness® Program, nor may you be subjected to retaliation if you choose not to participate.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this notice, or about protections against discrimination and retaliation, please contact MCHCP Member Services at 800-487-0771.