Fitness technology may have gone to the next level. UnitedHealthcare has announced that Fitbit, producer of health and fitness wearables, will produce a customized wearable device that will be incorporated into its UnitedHealthcare Motion wellness program.
According to HRDive, the Fitbit Charge 2 will be integrated into the program so that Motion members can track their progress on goals in real time. In addition, the program allows them to earn financial rewards for improvements in their lifestyle. Fitbit says in the report the partnership allows Motion program participants to earn as much as $1,500 in yearly awards for meeting daily goals.
UnitedHealthcare Motion is a three-tiered wellness program based on “frequency, intensity and tenacity,” or F.I.T. Qualcomm Life, a health care connectivity platform, powers the Motion program, the report says, adding that the real-time tracking capability provided by the Fitbit Charge 2 could help workers achieve fitness goals while still maintaining productivity.
And it’s not the only program out there to use wearable health tech, as interest grows in the concept. Insurer Aetna has teamed with Apple, offering subsidies for the Apple Watch for employers and customers. Such technology provides an aspect of gamification, which increases the appeal of wellness programs; that increases the likelihood that participants will be more engaged and perhaps achieve better results.
Subsidies permitted under an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission wellness program rule have been challenged in court by AARP, and there are concerns over whether programs are actually voluntary or instead could be potentially discriminatory.
While employers are allowed to give employees as much as 30 percent of the coverage cost of a wellness program if they disclose pertinent health information, AARP argued instead that such subsidies amounted to coercion.
AARP also says health information disclosure, as a breach of privacy, could be instrumental in discriminating against workers. But both arguments were dismissed by Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The report says interest in such programs is likely to continue to increase during the coming year.
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