Wear Wearable, Get Incentives, Health Insurer Tells Members

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UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the United States, is expanding an initiative to reward plan members for healthy behavior tracked by activity trackers.

• The upside is that patients can benefit from financial incentives, but regulators fear the downside could be penalties for unhealthy lifestyles.

Why It Matters: Healthcare spending is projected at $13,000 per person in 2021, more than 18% of GDP. According to experts, unhealthy lifestyle habits contribute to rising healthcare costs.

Breaking News: UnitedHealthcare Rewards is paying up to $1,000 per year to members who use wearable devices to track their health and take other health management actions.

• The program will initially be available to 3 million patients on UnitedHealthcare's fully insured plans and will then roll out to members of the self-insured plans in 2024.
• It replaces an initiative called the UnitedHealthcare Motion, which aims to encourage members to track their daily steps.

How it works: Rewards that come in the form of monetary gift cards or health savings account funds result from a variety of behaviors:

• Take at least 5,000 steps and get at least 15 minutes or more physical activity each day.
• Track your sleep for at least two weeks, undergo biometric screening, and complete a health survey.

Samantha Baker, the company's director of consumer business, told Axios that "the goal of the program is really to encourage our members to take control of their health and get involved in these activities and ultimately improve their quality of life and." contribute to their improvement.” . for your health". Comprehensive support".

Marianne Udow-Phillips, senior advisor at the University of Michigan's Center for Research and Health Transformation, told Axios that the new findings suggest that "promoting wearables can motivate and encourage people to walk more and become more physically fit." be".

Yes, but: Watchdogs worry that companies like United could use such programs to pass costs on to people who reject healthy behavior.

• "Higher deductibles can mean higher premiums," Udow-Phillips said.
• According to the American Medical Association, "there's no rule stopping them" from using data like calorie intake, blood pressure, and weight to punish patients.

What They Say: Still, Baker said society will no longer make people pay for unhealthy living.

• "There is no penalty for not attending," he said. UnitedHealthcare offers users the ability to choose what information to share or not to share.

Note: If you are unable to pay or do not have a device that works with the UnitedHealthcare app (FitBit, Apple Watch, or Garmin), you will not be able to participate in the activity tracking aspects of the app.

• "The cost of purchasing a wearable device may discourage some low-income patients from participating in incentive programs, thereby missing out on potential financial rewards and potential health benefits," the AMA said.

The big question: Can these programs reduce healthcare costs, or at least slow the pace of growth?

• "There seems to be some potential here," Udow-Phillips said, but noted that cost savings for healthy behaviors today may not translate into savings for years.

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