Fitbit users with the health insurance Blue Cross Blue Shield will now be able to enroll in a program that rewards them for maintaining healthy habits.
Blue Cross Blue Shield’s wellness program Blue365 will be integrated with Fitbit devices, enabling users to easily track their activity, and rewarding them for leading healthy and active lifestyles.
Through the program, more than 60 million Blue Cross Blue Shield members will have access to Fitbit activity trackers and smartwatches at a reduced cost. They’ll also have the option to bundle their purchases with a Fitness Your Way gym membership from Tivity Health. In addition to Fitbit, the Blue365 program offers enrollees a variety of discounts across gym memberships, health and mental services, and nutrition.
“There is no question that increasing activity and moving more is a tremendous benefit that can improve health, and I’m excited Blue365 members will have even more incentives to get and remain healthy by exercising at a pace that’s right for them,” said Mark Talluto, vice president of strategy and analytics for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).
Adam Pellegrini, general manager of Fitbit Health Solutions, said the partnership signals show Fitbit is using its devices, as well as the data collected by those devices, to personalize health and wellness.
SportTechie Takeaway
Fitbit is increasingly in the business of personalization when it comes to wellness and healthcare. The company over the past two years has teamed up with a number of partners—from the at-home smart bike Peloton to Google Healthcare and insurance carriers—to build a web of interconnected partnerships that encourage people to use Fitbit devices and receive personalized health and fitness guides.
This new insurance deal is just the latest part of Fitbit’s fast-growing digital health initiative. The company is looking to expand beyond simple calorie and step counting to help people live healthier lives. Earlier this year, Fitbit announced a partnership with Google to connect its wearable devices to the healthcare system through Google’s new Cloud Healthcare API, an open-source tool designed to connect healthcare providers with patient data to further integrate user data into the healthcare system. The company is also currently participating in an expansive federal health study with Scripps.