UnitedHealth Offers Gym Check-In; Cash Rebates for Visiting Fitness Centers

I believe that most health systems and physicians are not sufficiently engaged in promoting wellness among their patients. This is partly a matter of training but also due to the fact that health insurance reimbursement is based primarily on the treatment of disease. By way of contrast, health plans and health insurance companies increase their earnings if their customers remain healthy and seek less care. In other words, health plans and insurance companies are highly motivated to keep their customers healthy. This can be accomplished in part by nudging them toward healthy habits and seeking care early in the course of a disease.I have blogged previously about health insurance companies providing health wearables like Apple Watches at not cost to customers(see: Apple Watch"Gifted" to Insurance Policy Holders; Any Gotcha's with the Deal?;Swapping Personal Exercise Data for a Free Apple Watch; What's the Catch?). Another facet of this health promotion strategy for insurance companies is to provide gym memberships to those covered by the company insurance (see:UnitedHealthcare Helps Make it Easier for People to Stay Fit and Save Money with Gym Check-In). Below is information from an article about theUnitedHealhtcare program:UnitedHealthcare ’sgym reimbursement program, Gym Check-In, has expanded to include more than 124,000 facilities across the United States, potentially saving consumers hundreds of dollars a year on their gym fees. Gym Ch...

Source: Lab Soft News - June 4, 2019 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Cost of Healthcare Healthcare Business Healthcare Innovations Healthcare Insurance Medical Consumerism Preventive Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs