Humana's Healthy Lifestyle Rewards Program Adds HealthKit Support

[wvuQuentin]

Has anyone gotten it to link up? I can't get the HV app to pull down anything from HealthKit or vice versa.

My employer uses HV to incentivize being healthy via reducing premiums (or in my case, raising premiums of those that don't reach bronze level).

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Nothing wrong with that. However, Apple sells premium devices for a price that is above the competitors. Again, nothing wrong with that. But a given was that that meant the product was the iPhone. Now, Apple is going the same way as Google, turning the customer into the product.



The problem is that there are so many trackers now that you will on some of them. They can use that to make you pay more or even to deny coverage... For instance:

• Do you sleep 8 hours per night? If not, you're putting yourself at risk for cardiovascular events.
• Do you drink green tea, wine or other beverages with very high antioxidant contents? If not, you're putting yourself at risk for cancer
• Is you work stressful? If so, that's a risk for depression, suicide or cancer
• Do you practice meditation? If not, that's putting you at risk for high blood presure
• Do you consume "light" products. If so, you're putting yourself at risk for diabetis

And so on... As soon as you track everything, you're bound to find something everyone does wrong. And diseases stop being something related to probabilities but something you're guilty of...



And how long before insurances think that if you don't you're doing something wrong and unhealthy or think you're trying to hide a prior condition by not tracking yourself?

1) No, Apple is not making money off of data. Tim Cook has already been explicit about that point very recently.

2) Insurers cannot deny coverage for the items you mentioned. Under ACA they can't really deny coverage to anyone for anything.

3) Again, anything with HealthKit is "opt-in." You aren't telling any one or company anything unless you give them explicit do so by "opting in."

4) Anyone who thinks HealthKit is a threat to their premiums is delusional. Insurance company already have direct access to your medical records. They don't need an activity band to figure out that a male who is 5'5" and 210 Lbs probably isn't very active.

 

[winston1236]

Ugh - this is the worst part of HealthKit - having someone else track you, that someone being your health insurance company.

Yep. Its so they can see your vitals in almost realtime and raise your rates at any excuse.

I'm 5'10", and I get about 2,000 steps/mile, so if you were me, you (or is it me?) would get 6,000 steps from that activity alone.

I think it's a matter of perspective. At work, there's a sign that says, "you burn 5x as many calories taking the stairs as you do the elevator."

So, I just take the elevator 5 times when I'm going upstairs.

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Sooner or later, they'll give you a discount for giving them your information, and then make you justify why you're not doing it. It's a sly way of peer pressuring people. Just look at Flo in the Progressive (it's really not that ironic when you consider the Progressive Movement) Insurance Company:

We'll track how you drive, and price your insurance accordingly.

We will track how you live, and price your insurance accordingly.

Oh yeah, and since you're alive, and you live in the USA, you must buy health insurance, because saying that you don't want to buy something, but being compelled to do so against your will, is what freedom is all about.

Exactly, its just like how the Progressive "Snapshot" tracks your location and speed via its cell connection through ATT towers.

 

[Lictor]

Insurers cannot deny coverage for the items you mentioned. Under ACA they can't really deny coverage to anyone for anything.

ACA is what Obama put in place, right? I'm not American and your whole health system is a nightmare to understand for outsiders (well, I guess ours is too).
What if the Republicans destroy ACA? What if things change in 20 years? Data will survive as long as you do, and the US seems to have very little laws protecting privacy...
They cannot do that know, but what about in two years, in ten years? Are you sure that in 40 years when you have Alzheimer, your insurance company won't go back through your data, find out you slept only 5 hours a night and deny your coverage?

Again, anything with HealthKit is "opt-in." You aren't telling any one or company anything unless you give them explicit do so by "opting in."

Yes, and here, working on sundays is "opt-in", but if you don't opt-in, you're not hired or not promoted...
Right now, you have incentives to opt-in. This is usually followed by opt-in becoming the norm and opt-out paying extra.

Anyone who thinks HealthKit is a threat to their premiums is delusional. Insurance company already have direct access to your medical records. They don't need an activity band to figure out that a male who is 5'5" and 210 Lbs probably isn't very active.

Again, I don't know the situation in the US. They sure don't here, I don't even think my insurance companies know my weight - most people are insured through their employers and that means everyone in the company pays the same regardless of health, number of children or age.
So, discrimination would only happen for people who go as individual without an employer. But even then, only a doctor can look at a medical record, assurers have to go through one, they can't access the numbers directly. Unless said numbers are made public by an application..

 

[winston1236]

ACA is what Obama put in place, right? I'm not American and your whole health system is a nightmare to understand for outsiders (well, I guess ours is too).
What if the Republicans destroy ACA? What if things change in 20 years? Data will survive as long as you do, and the US seems to have very little laws protecting privacy...
They cannot do that know, but what about in two years, in ten years? Are you sure that in 40 years when you have Alzheimer, your insurance company won't go back through your data, find out you slept only 5 hours a night and deny your coverage?



Yes, and here, working on sundays is "opt-in", but if you don't opt-in, you're not hired or not promoted...
Right now, you have incentives to opt-in. This is usually followed by opt-in becoming the norm and opt-out paying extra.



Again, I don't know the situation in the US. They sure don't here, I don't even think my insurance companies know my weight - most people are insured through their employers and that means everyone in the company pays the same regardless of health, number of children or age.
So, discrimination would only happen for people who go as individual without an employer. But even then, only a doctor can look at a medical record, assurers have to go through one, they can't access the numbers directly. Unless said numbers are made public by an application..

No worries, its a nightmare for Americans to figure out as well. It was supposed to be a fix for the fact that the US pays twice as much as other countries for healthcare that isn't better and actually rates lower than places like France. What country are you in?

 

[macs4nw]

Nope, which is why I won't sign up for it, problem solved. Nobody is forcing you to do this, they're offering an incentive for being healthy.

But the next logical step is, "if you're not monitoring yourself, either you're not looking after yourself, or you have something to hide, and either way you're in a higher risk bracket", so you'll pay more.

I think this is a slippery slope that we would do well to consider all angles of, before going full speed ahead.

But that may very well be too late as unfortunately this genie is out of the bottle, and this kind of health monitoring and tracking is here to stay and will become commonplace whether we like it or not, and you can bet your bottom dollar that despite some discounts for the super-fit, insurance is going to cost more for the average person.

 

[soccerjoshj07]

Has anyone gotten it to link up? I can't get the HV app to pull down anything from HealthKit or vice versa.

My employer uses HV to incentivize being healthy via reducing premiums (or in my case, raising premiums of those that don't reach bronze level).

Having the same problem - it advertises this feature, but am not receiving points or or anyway to "upload" - unless that is done automatically. Let me know if you figure it out

 

[wvuQuentin]

But the next logical step is, "if you're not monitoring yourself, either you're not looking after yourself, or you have something to hide, and either way you're in a higher risk bracket", so you'll pay more.

I think this is a slippery slope that we would do well to consider all angles of, before going full speed ahead.

But that may very well be too late as unfortunately this genie is out of the bottle, and this kind of health monitoring and tracking is here to stay and will become commonplace whether we like it or not, and you can bet your bottom dollar that despite some discounts for the super-fit, insurance is going to cost more for the average person.

Rates have been going up for everyone for ages without any sort of tracking. What makes you think that not tracking it will keep rates steady? I've been out in the real world for 8 years with what most consider great coverage and each year alternates between increased premiums and higher deductibles.

 

[Lictor]

No worries, its a nightmare for Americans to figure out as well. It was supposed to be a fix for the fact that the US pays twice as much as other countries for healthcare that isn't better and actually rates lower than places like France. What country are you in?

I'm in France... The system is not perfect here, for instance glasses or dental are not very well covered unless you're very poor. But private additionnal insurance is pretty cheap (my girlfriend pays 15€ per month and 50€ from her employer) to cover herself, myself and our kid, including dental implants, designer glasses, osteopathy...), since there is already coverage from the state for the really serious stuff (cancer, AIDS...).
We also have a pretty large not not profit private insurance system (mutualistic insurances), that's what I use for my home insurance for instance.
But yes, it's pretty complex too, because we have a mixed private/public system at all levels (insurance, doctors, hospital). But it does give a lot of flexibility: I can pick my doctor, I can change doctor whenever I want or go see a second one for another opinion, I can pick my options for treatment... I never had to wait too much for an appointment, but I live in Paris and we have plenty of doctors. Waiting is more a product of doctors not wanting to work in poor areas or in the countryside rather than of the insurance system.
The system is not perfect, but, yes, compared with the US we get a much better deal...

My opinion on the US reform is that it should be all or nothing. But since the opposition uttered the word "socialist", it ground the reform to a halt. So, you end up with a halfway things where all the public money seems to be forked to private insurance and with no cost control at all. That's a pretty bad mix...
Cost control is a very important part of all European "socialist" system. Since you have a monopolistic insurance at State level, it can enter negotiation with the pharmaceutic industry. It can evaluate if a drug is actually better than the previous generation and decide not to cover it if it doesn't. It can decide that a drug is too expensive for what it does compared to other less expensive drugs and ask that the price be reduced in exchange for covering it fully. The end result is that the price of drugs is usually cheaper in Europe than in the US, even before insurance coverage.
Likewise, the state fixes the maximum damages you can get from malpractice (from a doctor not from the pharma industry). So, you won't get rich from your doctor making an error, but doctors are not ruined from making an honest mistake. So, doctor's insurances are at a reasonable level, which means their prices are reasonable too (typical visit to a general doctor is around 25€, specialist will be around 50-70€ - before insurance and in Paris where they are usually above the state insurance coverage but private insurance will cover the difference).