Insurance plans push healthier choices at grocery store
Not only did her grocery store discount the item to
"You get that for
More health plans are dabbling with programs that provide discounts at the grocery store for healthier foods, a concept that
Nearly 10 years ago, the supermarket model was embraced by a large health plan in
But the goal of controlling health care costs with such programs by helping people avoid health problems is a long-run proposition that will be "very subtle," said Sturm, who has published research on the
"Of course healthier lifestyle will keep people healthier, and that in the long run will have an effect on health care costs, no doubt," Sturm said. "Will it be this miraculous program that by giving people subsidies for healthier food or gym benefits you can save thousands of dollars in health care costs? No, that's ridiculous."
Card or mobile app
Each week, the vendor that runs Healthy Savings e-mails a list of discounts. They apply to foods that an outside group called Guiding Stars has determined fall in the healthiest one-third of items in a typical grocery store.
Neither employers nor
"In November of 2017 we went over the
The insurer says 217,530 enrollees are eligible for the program, of whom 62,710 people (29 percent) went online to learn about the program and set up their card or app for use. Nearly 30,000 people, or 14 percent of all those eligible, have actually used the program. The average savings:
UnitedHealthcare didn't provide specific figures, but
Health plan members like the program because they find it can be more expensive to make healthy choices at the grocery store, Loberg said. After launching in
The program might be particularly appealing in southeast
Employers that buy "fully-insured" products, meaning they pay UnitedHealthcare to take the financial risk for medical claims, aren't charged separately for the program. Instead, the cost is baked into the standard product. Those employers appreciate that UnitedHealthcare is offering more wellness benefits, Frett said.
The interest has been more muted among "self-insured" employers, he said, because those groups see an extra cost for the program.
"Everything is preloaded on the member account," said
Behavior change is the goal
Not everyone is a believer.
The
"A lot of the coupons, when I looked them up, it was the more expensive products to begin with -- so it would be name-brand or organic or something like that," Diercks said. "You would be saving a little bit, but I don't buy those products."
The ultimate goal is a connection between healthier eating and reduced future health care spending for people with conditions like early onset or Type 2 diabetes, said
One factor employers will consider before implementing a program like Healthy Savings, Martin said, is whether it actually gets a significant number of workers to change behavior and start buying more healthy foods.
"Employers who have a heavy focus on their wellness program might want to invest in something like this," he said. "Those who are looking for really hard return-on-investment numbers are going to have a little bit harder time justifying programs like this, but that doesn't mean there isn't a value. Hard ROI can be tough to prove with wellness programs."
Twitter: @chrissnowbeck
___
(c)2018 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Kids in psych center say staff sexually, physically abused them. Why didn’t officials listen?
Minnesota senior community pushes back against ‘astronomical’ rent hikes
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News