Health Plans Encourage Wearables; Few Integrate Data

Editor’s Note: According to recent studies, wearables and fitness trackers increase physical activity over the long term in wellness programs, while also monitoring chronic conditions. Health plans encourage wearables — so why don’t more plans include them? Wellness programs help members develop healthy habits, leading to lower expense pressures from chronic health issues for both members and payers. Click here to find out how BHM helps support payers.

Health Plans Encourage Wearables

While health plans encourage wearables, the assessment of their benefits has been the target of several recent studies. Researchers are interested in discovering the “stickiness” of the devices and their effect on wellness program success. The studies note that employer and payer wellness programs, as well as independent users, reflect positively on them.

Wearables monitor chronic conditions and increase activity over the long term for users across ages and demographics. So why don’t more plans include wearables and the population data they generate?

Fitbit Study

For more information on how patients benefit from payer wellness programs and wearables, take a moment to examine the report released by Fitbit.

77% Use Wearables, but Only 9% of Medicare Plan Members Say Their Plan Integrates the Data — HealthMine Survey

Seventy-seven percent of Medicare health plan members use digital health tools, including blood pressure monitors, fitness trackers, medication/pill trackers, and more. However, only 9% of Medicare plan members say their plan integrates data from those tools, according to a HealthMine survey of 500 Medicare plan members.

The HealthMine data also revealed that 70% of Medicare plan members have one or more chronic conditions, while just 8% of those with chronic conditions connect digital tools to their health plans.

Digital Tools Used by Medicare Plan Members

Digital Tool	Percentage of Members
Blood pressure monitor	49%
Blood sugar monitor	18%
Fitness/activity/steps tracker	17%
Electronic health/medical record	8%
Medication adherence/pill tracker	7%
Heart rate monitor	5%
Food/nutrition tracker	5%
Sleep monitor	3%
Other	1%
None	33%

A separate HealthMine survey of 750 consumers aged 64 or younger enrolled in a sponsored insurance plan showed that 83% use digital health tools — but only 22% say their health plans are using the data to provide guidance.

HealthMine president and CEO Bryce Williams noted that actual health plan data shows more Medicare members have connected digital health tools than this survey indicates. Because the survey captures members’ perceptions, he suggested, it points to an opportunity for plans to improve communication so that members are aware their plan is connected to their digital tools.

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According to recent studies, wearables and fitness trackers increase physical activity over the long term in wellness programs, while also monitoring chronic conditions. Health plans encourage wearables — so why don’t more plans include them? Wellness programs help members develop healthy habits, leading to lower expense pressures from chronic health issues for both members and payers. Click here to find out how BHM helps support payers.