UnitedHealth expands wellness program through Fitbit
Plan participants who get the wearable devices can earn $1,500 annually in health reimbursement account or health savings account credits.
United Healthcare is expanding its corporate wellness program, adding new incentives and teaming up with wearable fitness tracker Fitbit, the companies announced.
The company's UnitedHealthcare Motion initiative is a fitness program that will meld wearable technology, telemedicine and up to $1,500 in annual wellness incentives.
Plan participants and their spouses who choose a Fitbit Charge 2 can track the number of steps they take each day. The wearable device tabulates the total number, frequency and intensity of the steps taken, which can then earn members up to $1,500 annually in health reimbursement account credits or health savings account credits.
The custom UnitedHealthcare Motion feature will be available in early 2017 on all Fitbit Charge 2 devices and can be activated for eligible program participants.
Participants earn up to $4 per day in credits by achieving one or more goals: Completing 300 steps in five minutes, an hour apart, at least six times per day; Completing 3,000 steps in 30 minutes, at least once per day; and completing at least 10,000 steps per day.
A 2013 study shows that people who walk less than 2,000 steps per day may have annual medical costs of over $10,000 while those who walk 8,000 or more steps per day may decrease those costs to as low as $3,000, according to UnitedHealth, which launched UnitedHealthcare Motion in March 2016.
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"Studies estimate that if a company can increase its active employee percentage from one-third to two-thirds, the total healthcare costs could be reduced significantly," said Dr. Richard Migliori, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealth Group.
Fitbit said this is a first-of-its-kind integration for the company.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
