West Virginia sets rules for add-on wellness reimbursements

Anyone buying an add-on wellness reimbursement plan with health insurance in West Virginia will now face a separate set of rules. The new law puts those products under the state Insurance Commissioner and leaves regular health coverage alone.

That means the state would be watching the reimbursement program itself, while making clear the underlying individual or group health plan stays separate.

A line between the add-on and the policy

The bill describes these programs as self-insured medical reimbursement plans, or wellness integrated medical plan expense reimbursement plans, created under Sections 105 and 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. They are meant to reimburse qualified medical expenses.

But the proposal draws a bright line. It says the new article would not apply to the underlying individual or group health plan, or to a self-insured group health plan.