One tenant of healthcare wisdom is that healthcare should focus on preventative care, versus treating people for illness later. Another bill championing this approach is the PHIT Act, or the Personal Health Investment Today Act. The PHIT act is supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and would create a pre-tax benefit account for people. This account would help pay for employee health purchases, including fitness equipment and gym memberships (one way to tackle broader wellness in the workplace).
Congress first introduced the PHIT Act in 2006, in response to, what proponents of the bill call, the inactivity pandemic. The Inactivity Pandemic links obesity (a leading cause of illness and disease) to our daily activity levels. For instance, the Inactivity Pandemic report cites the preference for escalators and elevators over stairs, and the impact of technology on our leisure choices. And while most people have a sense that our lives are becoming more sedentary, statistics reveal how different our moderns lives are: 24% of Americans are totally inactive, and inactivity is the fourth biggest cause of death.
The PHIT Act’s 2016 Inactivity Report also shows inactivity is correlated with household income: poorer families are more likely to be inactive. This means that health risks associated with inactivity are more likely to affect lower income households. The PHIT Act’s research suggests that is not just that it is harder to be active in modern society, but that it is costly to be active. Our intuitions support this: if we struggle to pay our bills, we are less likely to be able to afford that expensive gym membership.
How the PHIT Act Helps Employee Health
The PHIT Act is a direct response to this intuition. It gives people access to funds to make physical activity first and foremost, affordable. It does this by allowing employees to set aside up to $2,000 in their Pre-tax Medical Accounts for purchases such as
- Gym memberships
- League memberships
- Fitness equipment, like treadmills and ellipticals
Employees typically use Pre-tax Medical Accounts(HRAs and FSAs) to pay for medical costs. Some of these costs are preventative, but most employees use this money to pay for treatment of illnesses. With the PHIT Act legislators are hoping to encourage employee health and wellness before illness occurs.
While congress has not yet passed the PHIT Act, you can show your support by contacting your local congress representative. At IncentFit we have experience working with companies to decrease the tax burdens of wellness programs. The PHIT Act is another a smart step toward making employee wellness an affordable choice. Let us help your company make affordable healthy choices and leverage the tax benefits of wellness programs–contact our team today!