Indiana Chamber of Commerce

Text: From Gov. Daniels press release, January 4 2008:

The Healthy Indiana Plan, which provides health care coverage for uninsured low-income Hoosiers, approved by the General Assembly in 2007, also included a employer wellness tax credit (50 percent of qualified expenses) for employers who offer a qualified wellness program to employees.

The tax credit is available to employers with 2 to 100 employees that have received certification from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) for a “Qualified Wellness Program.” Such a program must have incentives for weight loss, smoking cessation and preventive screenings. ISDH put an emergency rule in place to implement the tax credit, and since then, programs for 51 small employers with 2,500 employees, have been certified. The wellness tax credit is retroactive to January 1, 2007.

According to the state Department of Workforce Development, companies with 99 employees or under represent nearly 41 percent of all private sector employment, or more than 1 million employees.

Wellness pays: New state wellness tax credit provides small businesses multiple benefits. Many are unaware of it.