UnitedHealthcare Rewards Program Encourages Healthy Living
Earn up to $1,000 per year in incentives by tracking steps, sleep, and other activities with your compatible device.
UnitedHealthcare has just announced a new program that aims to encourage people to focus on their health and wellness through the use of wearables such as Apple Watch. The UnitedHealthcare Rewards program offers eligible members the opportunity to earn up to $1,000 per year in incentives by completing certain one-time and ongoing activities that can be tracked with their wearable devices or smartphones.
The program is available to select employers with fully insured plans at the start of their new plan year and will expand to additional employers later in 2023. The goal is to make the program available to self-funded customers by the end of 2024. UnitedHealthcare has been a strong advocate of the use of wearables like Apple Watch for years and has even partnered with Apple to offer its members a free year of Fitness+.
So how exactly do members earn these incentives? Members can use their compatible activity tracker, smartwatch, or smartphone to meet the following goals: achieve 5,000 steps or more per day, complete 15 minutes or more of activity per day, track sleep for 14 nights, get a biometric screening, complete a health survey, and choose paperless billing.
The rewards for completing these activities are as follows: $25 for completing a health survey, $3.50 per week for walking 5,000 steps a day, $10 for tracking 14 days of sleep, $7 per week for 30 minutes of active fitness a day, and $5 for going paperless. UnitedHealthcare promises to add additional qualifying activities throughout the year.
The money earned can be added to a prepaid debit card or deposited directly into a health savings account to help cover out-of-pocket medical costs. However, it's important to note that some plans may be capped at $300 per year in rewards per member, with no additional details provided by the company.
The UnitedHealthcare Rewards program is not without its tradeoffs, however. In order to participate, members must grant UnitedHealthcare access to their health data, including sleep and exercise activities. This highly sensitive data is valuable to companies and insurance providers, and it is up to each individual member to weigh the pros and cons of the tradeoff and decide whether or not the rewards are worth it.
One of the benefits of the UnitedHealthcare Rewards program is its integration with UnitedHealthcare's website or mobile app, which requires iOS 14 or later. This allows members to easily track their progress and see their rewards grow over time. It also provides an incentive for people to adopt healthy habits, such as getting enough sleep, being physically active, and completing biometric screenings.
The use of wearables like Apple Watch has become increasingly popular in recent years as people look for ways to take control of their health and wellness. These devices provide real-time feedback and motivation to help people reach their goals and live healthier lives. UnitedHealthcare's new Rewards program takes advantage of this trend by incentivizing healthy behaviors through the use of wearable technology.