Will Employees Become Fitter and Share Wearable Device Data for $1,000 a Year?

Employers and health plans have long encouraged and incentivized employees to pay more attention to their health and well-being. It hasn’t always worked.

Now a new UnitedHealthcare Rewards program is taking a more direct approach. It will pay eligible plan members, including spouses, up to $1,000 a year for achieving various daily health goals and one-time activities when documented through wearable devices.

Available initially to those in UnitedHealthcare’s fully insured plans, the program will be rolled out to self-insured plans in 2024. Participants can place rewards into a health care savings account or receive the money on a prepaid debit card.

To be eligible for the rewards, which can be capped at $300 per year in some plans, members who enroll in the program will be asked to complete the following daily or one-time activities. Additional qualifying activities will be added throughout the year.

• Achieve 5,000 or more steps per day.
• Complete 15 minutes or more of daily activity.
• Track sleep for 14 nights.
• Get a biometric screening.
• Complete a health survey.
• Select paperless billing.