Health insurer Aetna and Apple team up for Watch app

From a health perspective, it is apparent that the Apple Watch is hugely beneficial to its owners, as it stimulates you to close the rings and stay active. When you forget to move, the Apple Watch gently notifies you to stand up and move a little.

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In the past some health insurance companies were subsidizing the Apple Watch to its customers. Now US based health insurer Aetna is taking this a step further, by launching a new Apple Watch app in partnership with Apple. In a statement published on Aetna’s website, they write:

Health insurance giant Aetna has teamed up with Apple to create a health-tracking app for Apple Watch that will have access to Aetna members’ medical data and offer monetary rewards for meeting personalized wellness goals.

The idea is to go beyond basic activity monitors and generic step goals, the two companies said in a debut event today, January 29, in Boston. Instead, the app, called Attain, will create tailored goals—drawing from Aetna members’ own insurance and medical information to do so—and provide nudges and incentives that aim to boost long-term health.

As users of Attain become active, they earn activity points, which in turn can be redeemed for rewards such as gift cards, or an option to offset the cost of an Apple Watch.

Another interesting part in the press release states this:

A recent study from RAND corporation found an average 34 percent increase in activity levels for participants using the rewards platform incorporated in Attain with Apple Watch, compared to those without these incentives – leading to an additional 4.8 days of activity per month.

Essentially Aetna is launching this program, as they have clear data linking an Apple Watch to a healthier lifestyle, thus reducing health insurance costs for its customers.

Our take: We love seeing this development, and hope that other health insurance companies around the globe will follow this example.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!