by the late 2000s the concept had become widely used in employee assistance programs in workplaces, and funding for development of such programs in small business was included in the affordable care act. the use of corporate wellness programs has been criticised as being discriminatory to people with disabilities. additionally, while there is some evidence to suggest that wellness programs can save money for employers, such evidence is generally based on observational studies that are prone to selection bias. randomized trials provide less positive results and often suffer from methodological flaws.