How Can Incentives Promote Healthy Behaviors?

Seema Verma, the CMS Administrator, and Adam Boehler, the Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, have been outspoken regarding the need to address proactively keeping people healthy, instead of waiting until they get sick and require expensive services.  In today’s healthcare world this is known as value-based care. 

In value-based care, providers are rewarded for the relative health of their patients, instead of getting paid to treat them when they are ill.  The management of chronic conditions is a key to lowering healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes. 

What’s the Cost?

60% of all Americans have at least one chronic condition, and 40% have two or more.  These are the leading drivers of the nation’s $3.3 trillion in annual health care costs.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that that eliminating three risk factors – poor diet, inactivity, and smoking – would prevent: 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of type 2 diabetes; and, 40% of cancer.  While elimination might be unattainable to some, reduction of these is certainly a real goal.

The Need for Incentives

A survey of 2500 consumers conducted by Survata in association with HealthEdge in 2018, found that 53% of millennials want more incentives for healthy behaviors from their health plan.  It is well known in the award industry that properly designed wellness incentive programs can and will produce results.  When just the communications of the desire for a change in wellness habits doesn’t work, incentives have.  They can get employees off the couch, eating right, smoking less and enrolled and involved in the classes and programs offered to help them along the way  And they can keep them on the path.  Changing habits is hard, but motivation can help get it done.

A survey conducted by Incentive Research Foundation revealed that almost 59% of wellness programs contain gift cards as awards for certain objectives such as weight loss, exercise, smoking cessation, and enrolling and completing parts of the program.  An Aflac study found that 61% of employees agree that they have made healthier lifestyle choices because of these types of wellness activities. 

And among those incentives and programs for healthy behaviors, it has been proven that cash rewards do not have a sustained impact on life habits. Incentives such as gift cards for healthy habits make a long-lasting difference, helping to contain costs of healthcare, improve overall health outcomes and boost employee engagement.