UnitedHealthcare’s wearables-powered wellness program now available in 40 states

UnitedHealthcare Motion

UnitedHealthcare, together with Qualcomm Life, is expanding its UnitedHealthcare Motion wellness program, which provides employees with activity trackers at no additional charge and enables them to earn up to $1,500 per year by meeting certain goals for the number of daily steps.

Introduced last year as a pilot in 12 states to select employers, UnitedHealthcare Motion uses Qualcomm Life’s 2net Platform for medical-grade connectivity that features multiple safeguards to help keep data secure. On the heels of that successful test, the program is expanded to 40 states and will now include access to additional customized activity trackers through a “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) model. The newest activity tracker integrated and validated in this model is the Fitbit Charge 2.

All devices connected the UnitedHealthcare Motion system enable employees to earn up to $4 per day in deductible credits based on F.I.T. goals, which stands for FREQUENCY of walking goals (six times per day with 300 steps within five minutes at least one hour apart), INTENSITY (3,000 steps within 30 minutes) and TENACITY (10,000 total steps each day). Employers can obtain premium savings based on program participants’ combined F.I.T. results. People who consistently achieve the F.I.T. goals tend to improve their health and reduce their medical expenses.

Qualcomm Life on its end will provide secure data transfer from the devices, to the Motion app and to UnitedHealthcare. Qualcomm Life will also enable the BYOD model to allow the integration of more activity trackers into the 2net Platform and UnitedHealthcare Motion, providing participants with more choice. Integrated activity trackers will be customized to enable users to see on their wrists how they are tracking against the program’s three daily F.I.T. goals.

“The growth of UnitedHealthcare Motion showcases the value of providing companies and their employees with personalized, connected health and wellness resources,” Richard Migliori, M.D., chief medical officer of UnitedHealth Group, said in a statement. “Wearable technology can help encourage employees to walk each day and earn financial rewards at the same time, using secure technology that we believe is intuitive and convenient.”

The UnitedHealthcare Motion program is now available to self-funded employers with five or more eligible employees and companies with fully insured health plans with 101 or more eligible employees.

According to technology consultancy Endeavors Partners, employers are expected to incorporate more than 13 million wearable and fitness tracking devices into their wellness programs by 2018.