Products January 6, 2004

Blue Shield of CA Offering Financial Incentives for Healthy Living

January 6, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Blue Shield of California is offering commercial and individual subscribers up to $200 for participating in a new online health incentive pilot program.

Reported by

Eric Hazard

Healthy Lifestyle Rewards uses financial incentives, interactive health promotions and online tracking tools to encourage participants to adopt behaviors that have the greatest impact on healthy living, according to a news release. The healthy behaviors, targeted to reduce significant risk factors for chronic disease and medical claims, include:

physical activity
healthy eating
stress management
tobacco abstinence.

Participants register for the program through the Blue Shield of California Web site, www.mylifepath.com, where they will be asked to complete a preliminary, online health risk assessment. The profile then will indicate areas where the individual is performing well and highlight those that may need improvement In addition, the profile will recommend specific programs that can be used to achieve an individual’s health goals, such as walking trackers, weight loss meal planners and stress management tools.

Participants can earn between $75 to $200, depending on their level of participation, which includes the number of weeks that they visit the healthy living Web site and record their activities. Payments will be distributed at the end of the 10-month Healthy Lifestyle Rewards program.

Progress in the program will be determinedby the results of a second health risk assessment taken at the end of the program in late 2004. However, the outcome of that assessment will not affect the amount of the cash reward that a participant can earn. The cash payment is based solely on the number of weeks the individual records healthy activity through the Web site.