UnitedHealthcare, part of the nation’s largest health insurance provider UnitedHealth Group, has introduced a new rewards program that offers users up to $1,000 for using wearable devices and completing health goals and activities.
The program, UnitedHealthcare Rewards, encourages eligible members to use a compatible activity tracker, smartwatch or smartphone to meet daily activity goals, track sleep and measure other health goals. Members who meet goals can rack up earnings, which can be added to a prepaid debit card or deposited into a health savings account to pay for out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
The program comes at a time when more insurers are pushing health incentives that could improve health outcomes and reduce chronic conditions. A whopping 90% of employees have access to wellness programs, but the penetration rate has hovered around 23% who use them, according to a 2021 study from Gartner.
The health activities that can earn members rewards include walking 5,000 steps per day, completing 15 minutes or more activity per day, tracking sleep for 14 nights, getting a biometric reading, completing a health survey and more.
“UnitedHealthcare Rewards is a more modern approach to employer-sponsored well-being programs, leveraging gamification elements and giving members the opportunity to earn incentives for any number of activities that may promote health,” Brandon Cuevas, chief growth officer of UnitedHealthcare, said in a statement. “UnitedHealthcare Rewards can be a key step in helping more of our members get and stay healthy, prevent or more effectively manage chronic conditions and, ultimately, make healthcare more affordable for individuals and employers.”
The program is available to select employers with fully insured plans at the start of the new plan year, and additional employers with fully insured plans will gain later access later in 2023. In 2024, self-funded customers will be able to purchase UnitedHealthcare Rewards.
The new program comes after UnitedHealth Group’s Otpum acquiredChange Healthcare for a $8 billion in 2022, bringing together UnitedHealth’s health services business with a data and analytics-driven solutions provider.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."