United Study Concludes Patient Incentives Work

Consumer incentives can be used to cut healthcare costs and improve their overall health, according to a new survey by the Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare.

The report, which was published in the most recent edition of the academic journal Health Affairs, concluded that the use of such program can lead to significantly more conservatives courses of care with similar or improved outcomes and savings in the low five figures.

The study focused on the UnitedHealth program Rewards for Health, which the Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer introduced in 2008. It offers incentive points that can allow families to reduce their premiums by as much as $1,200 a year.

According to the study, during the first 24 months of the program, more than 80% of those enrolled in the program earned some form of incentive points through Rewards for Health. Additional facets of the program include providing specific information to enrollees about low-cost providers.

Such incentive programs are supported by some prominent healthcare economists.

“If you can get a patient to engage in better behavior for a payment, it is worth it,” said Jeff Goldsmith, chief executive officer of Health Futures Inc. in Charlottesville, Va. and an associate professor of public health at the University of Virginia. Goldsmith noted that payments to patients worth a few hundred dollars can reap savings for providers and health plans of many multiples of that amount.

That appears to be the case in one facet of the Rewards for Health Program that focused on 7.200 UnitedHealth enrollees at high risk for developing diabetes. More than 40% of those employees were able to lose an average 4.5% of their body weight through coaching.

Altogether, it is estimated that Rewards for Health has translated to more than $100 million in healthcare savings during the first three years of the program.

“Payers can play an important role in engaging consumers and realizing the promise of a truly activated, engaged and supported patient,” said Simon Stevens, UnitedHealth Group executive vice president and president, GlobalHealth. “Our...report offers practical lessons for policymakers and suggests how Medicare andMedicaid could benefit from improved patient engagement.”

A copy of the study may be viewed here.