Aetna to Provide Apple Watch to 50,000 Employees, Subsidize Cost for Customers

[Larry The L]

I've gained 10 pounds since I've owned mine.

And without the watch, you would have gained 50 pounds.

 

[npmacuser5]

Reminds me of the car tracking devices. Meet your activity goals, all good. Do not meet them, rate increase. Interesting to see how far they will take the data collected.

 

[imola.zhp]

Y'all are nuts, Apple doesn't share health information with anyone. Listen to yourselves

 

[brsboarder]

Good

 

[Tech198]

So if I become a customer I get a "free" Apple Watch? lol

an insurance company?? I've never seen anything stranger. This is only because they offer health plans right ?

"While we're at it we may as well make a great deal"

 

[cfj003]

Trust me life will kick you in your rear end so hard and with your mentality you will never see it coming. People like you only learn the very hard way and after it's too late. God help your children and grandchildren. They will need it.
[doublepost=1475012614][/doublepost]

I say within 5 years unless there is a major shift away from gvt tyranny. Insurance companies are wanting to get it where they only insure healthy people [per their NIH/JAMA definition].

not government tyranny, more like UNFETTERED and UNCONTROLLED mergers, acquisitions and the quest for perpetual growth! NOTHING grows at the same rate perpetually EXCEPT CANCER CELLS...think about that the next time you hear some analyst on cnbc or Bloomberg complaining about a super profitable company's growth rate.

on a side note: bring back dividends and tax them at the same rate as "corporate gains" and let companies get back to worrying about profitability instead of artificial growth
[doublepost=1475019370][/doublepost]

They don't give you anything and it's not free. It's a subsidy meaning they let you purchase it at a discount because of their ability to work a deal with Apple on the cost

sigh...but i bet you think you are soooo smart because that's what your parents and teachers tell/told you...

 

[scoobydoo99]

My goodness liberals sure are miserable people. You know corporations can provide benefits to consumers and "maximize profits" at the same time. It's not a zero sum game.

I _never_ said customers couldn't, or wouldn't, benefit. The fact is: whether or not customers benefit has nothing to do with a corporate decision to implement a particular strategy (such as subsidized watches). I don't know why carefully analyzing the world using facts makes you think i'm "miserable", but so be it. try arguing the with proposition, not the individual advancing it. Oh, wait, is that the "liberal" way of doing things?

 

[Macinva]

Yours is a common misunderstanding. In your scenario, your employer contracts with Aetna and Aetna provides the insurance level of benefits that your company decides. I've been with places that offered a "Cadillac" plan and others a very basic plan, both administered by Aetna. If you have an issue with your coverage, speak to your HR department or boss about having better coverage, reduced deductibles, etc.

I understand all that and have a top-tier plan, but it's still Aetna that provides benefits and management of them. My problem is with Aetna not fulfilling coverage that we pay for. Simple things like a prescription and they still push back. I'm no fan of Aetna but I'm sure all providers are similar just like AT&T, Verizon, etc.

Back on topic, I still don't want a watch from them.

 

[cfj003]

Have to agree with the OP on this point. There is absolutely NO possibility that this an attempt to "help customers". That's not how corporations work. They are required by law (fiduciary duty) to maximize profit for shareholders. They don't spend ANY money that doesn't further this goal. When you see a sign in Target that they "donate 5% to the community", etc - that has been carefully calculated to maximize profits. The combination of tax write-off and increased sales from customer goodwill create a net positive for the company. In this case Aetna may be looking at a variety of profit potentials: less expense from healthcare payments if the AW makes some customers healthier; more income from premiums if, as the OP suggests, they find grounds for increasing premiums; or increase in subscriber base from people signing up just for the "free" watch, etc.

Whatever the mechanism, the AW giveaway has been calculated to increase profits. Don't ever ascribe altruism to a corporation.

in actuality, what these ceos and execs do is make HORRIBLE for the long-term but GREAT for the short-term-leaning decisions due to wall street's obsession with growth(because only cancer cells grow perpetually with no decrease in rate). this is because wall street analyst and money-makers are looking to make a quick buck. 20 years from now the company and its stockholders are losers and the analyst is pumping the next company to make disastrous decisions based on short term growth.

 

[elmaco]

An Apple Watch 2 as a company x-mas gift. That would be nice.

 

[spinedoc77]

Yours is a common misunderstanding. In your scenario, your employer contracts with Aetna and Aetna provides the insurance level of benefits that your company decides. I've been with places that offered a "Cadillac" plan and others a very basic plan, both administered by Aetna. If you have an issue with your coverage, speak to your HR department or boss about having better coverage, reduced deductibles, etc.

They were talking about the service, not things like copays/deductibles which the company contracts. If Aetna decides a medical procedure isn't medically necessary and refuses to pay it has nothing to do with the employer, for example.

 

[erinsarah]

I would be very cautious about accepting a free GPS-enabled device from my employer!

You mean like a cell phone? Good luck with that.

 

[theinstructor]

Government money sure is nice these days!

 

[erinsarah]

Reminds me of the car tracking devices. Meet your activity goals, all good. Do not meet them, rate increase. Interesting to see how far they will take the data collected.

I work for a large pharma company that gives free FitBits to employees (I lost mine months ago, but...). It's offered as an incentive to join wellness "challenges", such as "get a million steps by september and get $50", that sort of thing. In no way shape or form are they considering rate increases for sluggish employees.

 

[cerote]

I would be very cautious about accepting a free GPS-enabled device from my employer!

I already have gps-enabled device by agreeing to be part of on-call. Got work phone I have to carry/use. So I would welcome a free Apple Watch to use with it.

 

[newyorkone]

Yeah, because what you want is a insurance corporation that tracks your health and adjusts your premiums directly on your stats.

Sure, 25% up front discount, but when they find out your health isn't great then boom, suddenly you are paying 50%, 100%, 500% more the originally? The the problem is they decide what good or bad health is, you can be fit but have a minor heart murmur your watch will pick up, suddenly you are paying 250% more the next time your insurance is renewed even if your own doctor says its nothing to worry about.

And you might think, "well I will just leave Aetna and go to another insurance company", only thing is they are all in cahoots so once they know you are at risk with poor health your records are shared with all insurance companies and suddenly you can't afford health insurance anymore anywhere.

And guess what, your employer will have access to your health records and at-risk employees might suddenly be laid off for whatever reason because a company doesn't want people that might drop dead or be a burden of long term disability leave in the future.

It amazes me how much people will jump at a marketing promotion to get something free or get a perceived savings on cost without thinking one damn minute about the ulterior motives. NO corporation wants to earn less money from you, there is ALWAYS an ulterior profit mongering scheme with anything any corporation does.

Aetna can spin this all they want, the reality is that they will use this information to increase profit off of at-risk customers OR simply cancel at-risk customers that prove to have health stats that might indicate future liability to the company when a customer might actually need to use their insurance for health reasons.

In the end, this is yet another greedy organization that is looking to make more profit by violating your privacy and it is surprising that Apple would allow this considering how vocal Apple has been to not collect consumer data for profiteering. But right now Apple just wants to sell more Apple Watches and could care less about your privacy by allowing apps such as this to tie directly into another corporation's profit scheme. Dangle a shiney bauble in front of you, suddenly people want to share their private information with a corporation.

This could only be a possibility if you are required to use their app. I would think Apple would be against such a mandate. Also, since privacy is very important to Apple, I'm sure they would require that the "opt in" for sending health data be very obvious. I just don't see Apple approving an app that allows Aetna to collect customer health data secretly and without the customers expressly opting in. This isn't Android after all...

 

[MrShoehorn]

Yeah, because what you want is a insurance corporation that tracks your health and adjusts your premiums directly on your stats.

Sure, 25% up front discount, but when they find out your health isn't great then boom, suddenly you are paying 50%, 100%, 500% more the originally? The the problem is they decide what good or bad health is, you can be fit but have a minor heart murmur your watch will pick up, suddenly you are paying 250% more the next time your insurance is renewed even if your own doctor says its nothing to worry about.

And you might think, "well I will just leave Aetna and go to another insurance company", only thing is they are all in cahoots so once they know you are at risk with poor health your records are shared with all insurance companies and suddenly you can't afford health insurance anymore anywhere.

And guess what, your employer will have access to your health records and at-risk employees might suddenly be laid off for whatever reason because a company doesn't want people that might drop dead or be a burden of long term disability leave in the future.

It amazes me how much people will jump at a marketing promotion to get something free or get a perceived savings on cost without thinking one damn minute about the ulterior motives. NO corporation wants to earn less money from you, there is ALWAYS an ulterior profit mongering scheme with anything any corporation does.

Aetna can spin this all they want, the reality is that they will use this information to increase profit off of at-risk customers OR simply cancel at-risk customers that prove to have health stats that might indicate future liability to the company when a customer might actually need to use their insurance for health reasons.

In the end, this is yet another greedy organization that is looking to make more profit by violating your privacy and it is surprising that Apple would allow this considering how vocal Apple has been to not collect consumer data for profiteering. But right now Apple just wants to sell more Apple Watches and could care less about your privacy by allowing apps such as this to tie directly into another corporation's profit scheme. Dangle a shiney bauble in front of you, suddenly people want to share their private information with a corporation.

How exactly are they tracking your health data? You have to reset the Apple Watch prior to pairing it. The health app doesn't send your info to companies. It's all private.

 

[iMi]

On an unrelated note, next year's premiums will be up 23%...

 

[lordofthereef]

I would be very cautious about accepting a free GPS-enabled device from my employer!

Maybe you could ask for a tinfoil hat instead?
[doublepost=1475023131][/doublepost]

How exactly are they tracking your health data? You have to reset the Apple Watch prior to pairing it. The health app doesn't send your info to companies. It's all private.

Point blank people simply don't know what they're talking about here. They aren't tracking your health data any more than Verizon T-Mobile and ATT are doing so giving you a free iPhone 7 with trade in. They also wouldn't be tracking whereabouts; they simply wouldn't have a means to unless there is some strange requirement to install an app, which would be an obvious red flag.

The paranoia in this thread is unbelievable.

On a side note, apparently studies show that incentives like this (many companies offer Fitbit, gym memberships, and other similar perks) don't seem to work overall.

 

[Cigsm]

You do know that literally none of what you said is true, right?

Nobody has access to the info buy your devices

Yeah, because what you want is a insurance corporation that tracks your health and adjusts your premiums directly on your stats.

Sure, 25% up front discount, but when they find out your health isn't great then boom, suddenly you are paying 50%, 100%, 500% more the originally? The the problem is they decide what good or bad health is, you can be fit but have a minor heart murmur your watch will pick up, suddenly you are paying 250% more the next time your insurance is renewed even if your own doctor says its nothing to worry about.

And you might think, "well I will just leave Aetna and go to another insurance company", only thing is they are all in cahoots so once they know you are at risk with poor health your records are shared with all insurance companies and suddenly you can't afford health insurance anymore anywhere.

And guess what, your employer will have access to your health records and at-risk employees might suddenly be laid off for whatever reason because a company doesn't want people that might drop dead or be a burden of long term disability leave in the future.

It amazes me how much people will jump at a marketing promotion to get something free or get a perceived savings on cost without thinking one damn minute about the ulterior motives. NO corporation wants to earn less money from you, there is ALWAYS an ulterior profit mongering scheme with anything any corporation does.

Aetna can spin this all they want, the reality is that they will use this information to increase profit off of at-risk customers OR simply cancel at-risk customers that prove to have health stats that might indicate future liability to the company when a customer might actually need to use their insurance for health reasons.

In the end, this is yet another greedy organization that is looking to make more profit by violating your privacy and it is surprising that Apple would allow this considering how vocal Apple has been to not collect consumer data for profiteering. But right now Apple just wants to sell more Apple Watches and could care less about your privacy by allowing apps such as this to tie directly into another corporation's profit scheme. Dangle a shiney bauble in front of you, suddenly people want to share their private information with a corporation.

 

[Cigsm]

The Apple Watch remains a joke huh? In the first weekend it sold more then every other smart watch combined EVER. It takes over 80% of the entire smart watch market and became a multi billion dollar business for Apple within a year. The jokes on you buddy

The Watch remains a joke.
[doublepost=1475002509][/doublepost]
More then you think.

 

[QquegChristian]

I think everyone gets that Apple won't hand over the health data from the Watch, however, maybe you'll have to let the mentioned Aetna app access that data to receive the subsidy.

 

[deany]

There was talk in the UK about the apple watch being tax deductible business expenses.
The consences was NO it couldn't claimed unlike iPhone.

Surely though this could be classified as a Health and Safety aid and that could be tax deductable now its even more of a Health aid.
My query is though as previously mentioned android phones.
30% of our staff have android so it suddenly becomes much more expensive and unfair on the already iPhone owners.
As the watch is useless without iPhone.

 

[tooltalk]

is this one of those buy a iPhone 7, get a Apple Watch free program?

 

[ejb190]

I'll just leave this right here...

Workplace Wellness Programs are a Sham by L.V. Anderson - Slate.com