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As a part of the medical industry’s overall shift toward more value-based care, healthcare professionals are focusing on driving patient wellness. For payers, this means implementing wellness programs to promote healthy behavior change among beneficiaries.
According to Healthcare.gov, a wellness program is:
A program intended to improve and promote health and fitness that’s usually offered through the work place, although insurance plans can offer them directly to their enrollees. The program allows your employer or plan to offer you premium discounts, cash rewards, gym memberships, and other incentives to participate. Some examples of wellness programs include programs to help you stop smoking, diabetes management programs, weight loss programs, and preventative health screenings.
Wellness programs can be separated into two camps: participatory and health-contingent.
A participatory wellness program is one that does not offer a reward or benefit based on a patient’s ability to meet a certain health metric. Instead, it incentivizes patients to simply engage in the healthy behavior. A gym membership reimbursement is an example of a participatory wellness program.