Select UnitedHealthcare Plan Participants Will Soon Have Access to Walgreens Balance Rewards for healthy choices

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Walgreens Balance Rewards for healthy choices is a first-of-its-kind program that encourages simple steps, or "micro-habits," that have the potential to lead to a healthier life. Health plans have the ability to define activities for their plan customers to earn Balance Rewards points to help health plans meet higher patient engagement, as well as HEDIS and 5 Star Medicare quality goals.

Walgreens Balance Rewards for healthy choices will be piloted with UnitedHealthcare fully insured health plan participants in Arizona and Illinois.

"Through our Balance Rewards for healthy choices initiative, Walgreens encourages participants to adopt simple steps that can positively affect a person's health, and collaborating with leading health plans such as UnitedHealthcare can further enhance the reach and impact of these programs," said Adam Pellegrini, divisional vice president of Digital Health for Walgreens.

Walgreens and UnitedHealthcare's collaboration is helping to meet the growing demand for meaningful and relevant rewards that are easy to access and redeem both online and offline, and highlights how health plans and employers are using incentives to encourage healthy behaviors among their employees and plan participants. The use of corporate wellness incentives has doubled since 2009, with employees earning $594 in incentives each year on average, according to a recent study from the National Business Group on Health.

UnitedHealthcare's Reward Me, available through the Health4Me mobile app, is a health-incentive initiative that enables plan participants to keep track of their physical activity, healthy food selections and other lifestyle choices that promote better well-being, and in the process earn discounts on products and services, including up to 50 percent off merchandise at a variety of national and local retailers. Health4Me is available on iPhone® and Android® devices to UnitedHealthcare plan participants and all consumers nationwide, to help people make more informed choices regarding their care.

"We have seen that rewarding healthy behavior can help people make sustained, positive behavior change," said Dr. Vidya Raman-Tangella, head of the Innovation Center of Excellence for UnitedHealthcare. "Our collaboration with Walgreens will play an important role in encouraging consumers to take a more active role in their overall health and well-being, and realizing the promise of a truly activated, engaged and supported consumer." About WalgreensWalgreens (www.walgreens.com), the nation's largest drugstore chain, constitutes the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. More than 8 million customers interact with Walgreens each day in communities across America, using the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice. Walgreens operates 8,232 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens digital business includes Walgreens.com, drugstore.com, Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com. Walgreens also manages more than 400 Healthcare Clinic and provider practice locations around the country. About UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves 45 million people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter. Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150413005768/en/

Keywords for this news article include: Medicare, Wellness, Legal Issues, Health Policy, UnitedHealthcare.

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