Introduction: We report on the effect of an incentive-based wellness program on medical claims and hospital admissions among members of a major health insurer. The focus of this investigation was specifically on fitness-related activities in this insured population.
Methods: Adult members of South Africa's largest private health insurer (n = 948,974) were grouped, a priori, on the basis of documented participation in fitness-related activities, including gym visits, into inactive (80%, equivalent to < or =3 gym visits/y), low active (7.0%, 4-23 gym visits/y), moderate active (5.2%, 24-48 gym visits/y), and high active (7.4%, >48 gym visits/y) groups. We compared medical claims data related to hospital admissions between groups after adjustment for age, sex, medical plan, and chronic illness benefits.
Results: Hospitalization costs per member were lower in each activity group compared with the inactive group. This same pattern was demonstrated for admissions rates. There was good agreement between level of participation in fitness-related activities and in other wellness program offerings; 90% of people only nominally engaged in the wellness program also were low active or inactive, whereas 84% of those in the high active group also had the highest overall participation in the wellness program.
Conclusion: Participation in fitness-related activities within an incentive-based health insurance wellness program was associated with lower health care costs. However, involvement in fitness-related activities was generally low, and further research is required to identify and address barriers to participation in such programs.