UnitedHealth's patient engagement program sees health improvements, study says

A patient engagement and reporting program linked to financial incentives yielded multiple improvements in health measures for employees of UnitedHealth Group, according to a study published in the August issue of Health Affairs.

UnitedHealth employees enrolled in the health insurance company's Rewards for Health program were able to earn points good for premium reductions as high as $1,200 for family coverage. The rewards program used health screenings targeting diabetes, cancer and other diseases as well as more general weight control based on the worker's body mass index.

In 2010, the program's launch year, 76% of employees who signed up earned points, and 27% received the maximum point level. The following year, 82% of participants earned points, and 36% maxed out.

“This program identified 7,200 people who were at high risk for diseases, including undiagnosed diabetes, but had not previously been identified as such,” the article said. “Forty percent of those not meeting body mass index targets received health coaching in 2010, and 44% of those showed improvement in the following year, averaging a 4.5% weight loss.”

The company estimates $107 million in savings on its healthcare costs over the three-year period of the program. “Medicare and Medicaid likely would benefit from incorporating more patient engagement strategies,” the report concluded.

Health plans “can analyze and present information to both patients and providers to help close gaps in care; share detailed quality and cost information to inform patients' choice of providers; and offer treatment decision support and value-based benefit designs to help guide choices of diagnostic tests and therapies,” the report said.

“Our own experience with our 133,000 employees shows that rewarding healthy behavior works,” said Dr. Lewis Sandy, executive vice president of clinical advancement for the Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer, in a news release. “Implementing patient-engagement strategies more broadly could have a profound impact on consumer health, help achieve wide-scale cost reductions, and advance a higher-performing health system.”

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