While the Affordable Care Act aims to reduce insurer ability to differentiate premiums based on pre-existing conditions, UnitedHealth is using patient behavior to adjust premiums for its own employees.
…the company implemented its Rewards for Health program, which gives all adult participants the opportunity to earn points for specific health actions, such as having a screening. These points are part of an earn-back approach in which employees who complete health actions in the current year qualify for premium reductions of up to $1,200 per family in the next year.
Source:
- Lewis G. Sandy, Reed V. Tuckson and Simon L. Stevens. UnitedHealthcare Experience Illustrates How Payers Can Enable Patient Engagement. 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1082 Health Aff August 2013 vol. 32 no. 8 1440-1445
This is a great post. It is a positive move to reward employees through incentives, and this will greatly encourage many to have regular health check-up which is vital to all of us, for instance such screening can help detect health issues early enough before things get out of hand.