Apple's colorful mainstream flagship, starting at $749.
Aetna to Provide Apple Watch to 50,000 Employees, Subsidize Cost for Customers
Insurance company Aetna today announced a major health initiative centered on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, which will see Aetna subsidizing the cost of the Apple Watch for both large employers and individual customers.
Starting this fall during open enrollment season, Aetna will subsidize "a signficant portion" of the Apple Watch cost and will offer monthly payroll deductions to cover the remaining cost.
Aetna also plans to provide Apple Watches at no cost to all of its nearly 50,000 employees as part of a wellness reimbursement program to encourage them to live healthier lives.
According to Aetna, these apps will "simplify the healthcare process" with features like care management to guide customers through a new diagnosis or a medication, medication reminders and tools for easy refills, quick contact with doctors, integration with Apple Wallet for paying bills and checking deductibles, and tools to help Aetna members get the most out of their insurance benefits.
Aetna's health-related apps will be available starting in early 2017, but the Apple Watch initiative will begin in 2016. Aetna has not detailed how much of the cost will be subsidized or which Apple Watch models will be available to subscribers.
Starting this fall during open enrollment season, Aetna will subsidize "a signficant portion" of the Apple Watch cost and will offer monthly payroll deductions to cover the remaining cost.
Aetna also plans to provide Apple Watches at no cost to all of its nearly 50,000 employees as part of a wellness reimbursement program to encourage them to live healthier lives.
"We are thrilled that Aetna will be helping their members and employees take greater control of their health using Apple Watch," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Aetna's new initiatives will be a powerful force toward creating better customer experiences in health care, and we look forward to working with Aetna to make them successful."Aetna plans to develop several iOS health initiatives with "support" from Apple, debuting "deeply integrated" health apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch that will be available to all Aetna customers.
According to Aetna, these apps will "simplify the healthcare process" with features like care management to guide customers through a new diagnosis or a medication, medication reminders and tools for easy refills, quick contact with doctors, integration with Apple Wallet for paying bills and checking deductibles, and tools to help Aetna members get the most out of their insurance benefits.
Aetna's health-related apps will be available starting in early 2017, but the Apple Watch initiative will begin in 2016. Aetna has not detailed how much of the cost will be subsidized or which Apple Watch models will be available to subscribers.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5
Tag: Aetna
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
[ 229 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
27 months ago
Excellent move and I'm sure just the first. Other companies will follow.
[doublepost=1475000280][/doublepost]
Perhaps you should delete the opentable app from your watch? :)
[doublepost=1475000280][/doublepost]
I've gained 10 pounds since I've owned mine.
Perhaps you should delete the opentable app from your watch? :)
27 months ago
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.
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.
27 months ago
I would be very cautious about accepting a free GPS-enabled device from my employer!
27 months ago
So if I become a customer I get a "free" Apple Watch? lol
LOL Oh you Canadians. We pay thousands a month in private health care. You can become a customer to get a free watch but you'll quickly see who comes out ahead :)
27 months ago
I've gained 10 pounds since I've owned mine.
I lost about 300 pounds upon getting mine.But then again, I bought it in England...
27 months ago
Yeah, because what you want is a insurance corporation that tracks your health and adjusts your premiums directly on your stats...
Wow, great rant. Curious how exactly insurance corps are going to get all of this information you are so concerned about off your Apple Watch. You think Apple, who would not breach privacy for the FBI, is going to do it for insurance companies? Your employer?
Admittedly, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you but I think in this case you can dial it down a notch. It really does seem like a legitimate attempt to help customers.
27 months ago
Awesome! 25% discount on AW, 50% increase in my premium. ;)
Aetna just pulled out of the majority of state health insurance marketplaces because they were not profitable there. I guess they are trying hard in 2017 to make the other jurisdictions they still operate in unprofitable too. Seriously, I understand encouraging fitness, but the basic Fitbit does that at a fraction of the cost if that is Aetna's goal. Aetna doesn't need to provide customers with the non-health related features of AW.
Also what happens when people buy b/c of the subsidy, but then get board because they were not really motivated to exerise in the first place. $ down rat hole that will be charged to Aetna's customers later on down the road. There is no free lunch here, and this does nothing to lower the real cost of health care.
Aetna just pulled out of the majority of state health insurance marketplaces because they were not profitable there. I guess they are trying hard in 2017 to make the other jurisdictions they still operate in unprofitable too. Seriously, I understand encouraging fitness, but the basic Fitbit does that at a fraction of the cost if that is Aetna's goal. Aetna doesn't need to provide customers with the non-health related features of AW.
Also what happens when people buy b/c of the subsidy, but then get board because they were not really motivated to exerise in the first place. $ down rat hole that will be charged to Aetna's customers later on down the road. There is no free lunch here, and this does nothing to lower the real cost of health care.
27 months ago
I'm not with Aetna and I already have Apple Watch but still a cool incentive/program.
[ Read All Comments ]
Apple today sent out emails highlighting its latest Apple Pay promotion, which offers Apple Pay users a $25 coupon after they spend $100 at Oakley.com.
To get the reward, users must make...
Payments company Square today announced the launch of a new point-of-sale hardware device called "Terminal," which combines NFC, credit/debit card swiping, and chip-based payments all in one...
The newest version of the popular Tweetbot Twitter app for iOS devices launched this morning, introducing a revamped look for the app along with several new features.
Tweetbot 5's new look...
Startup Beddr today launched the "SleepTuner," the first FDA-registered consumer sleep wearable that helps to assess and improve sleep quality. SleepTuner is a small accessory (about the size...
In iOS 12, Apple added several new ways for users to control how and when they receive app notifications, including the ability to group notifications and change their behavior on the fly with...
Popular image editing app Pixelmator Pro was today updated to version 1.2, which adds full support for macOS Mojave, a new light mode, faster machine learning tools, and more.
The update...
Spotify has announced a major update to its mobile apps for users with a Premium subscription to the service, including an overhauled radio feature and changes to the onscreen navigation controls and...
Mophie today announced the launch of the new Powerstation USB-C 3XL, which has been designed to charge Apple's line of MacBook devices.
The fabric-covered Powerstation USB-C 3XL includes a...
