What’s The Prize In The Wellness Games?
News reports track the latest trends regarding how insurers are using digital gaming methods to encourage wellness and how patients increasingly are being urged to ask questions about the cost of care.
The Wall Street Journal: Playing For Wellness
Your health insurer wants to play games with you—and they might involve actual prizes. As insurers try to get members to take better care of themselves, they are turning to tactics from the world of digital gaming. They're using methods including team competitions forged through online communities, virtual and real-world rewards for those who make moves to improve their health and the potential for raffle-style prizes. In addition, they're working with games for consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox Kinect that involve physical activity (Mathews, 4/7).
Arizona Republic: Patients Urged To Ask About Cost Of Health Care
Most people have little idea what a doctor or lab will charge before they slip on a patient gown for an examination or roll up a shirtsleeve for a blood sample. But as the cost of health care continues to spiral, that is changing. In what could be a major shift in how Americans choose medical care, consumers are being encouraged to ask questions about the price of medical treatments, especially those their insurance plans might not cover (Alltucker, 4/7).