CIGNA Rewards People For Making Healthy Choices
It’s another new year, and once again people have resolved to get active, lose weight, quit smoking or make other healthy changes in their lives. While it’s fairly easy to make New Year’s resolutions, for many of us it’s a lot harder to keep them. For some, earning rewards — like a gift card at a major retailer in return for completing an online coaching program, or merchandise, such as clothing, jewelry or electronics, for completing a series of health screenings — is just what’s needed to turn the best of intentions into everyday action.
That’s why people who are covered by a CIGNA health plan now have the opportunity to earn points that are redeemable for gift cards, merchandise and other rewards, such as travel packages, as part of the new CIGNA Incentive Points Program, which became available January 1 to CIGNA’s employer customers who choose to offer it to their employees.
Employees enrolled in the program can monitor the accumulation and redemption of their points through myCigna.com, much as they can monitor their accounts in airline, hotel and other rewards programs. The standard plan allows individuals to earn up to 200 points in a calendar year, but the employer has flexibility to set the cap.
They can earn points for participating in a variety of health-related activities, such as completing a health assessment or biometric screenings; reaching milestones in any of CIGNA’s eight disease management programs, such as programs for diabetes, heart disease or depression; or actively participating in a lifestyle management program such as CIGNA’s Quit TodaySM tobacco cessation program.
“The concept is simple,” says Tom Richards, senior vice president of product for CIGNA. “The more activities you participate in, the more points you earn; and the more you participate, the more opportunities you have to stay healthy or to improve your health.”
With a point equal to $1, employees enrolled in some health plans will also be able to convert their points to a cash contribution to a health reimbursement account or use them to defray health care premiums once the program is fully rolled out later this year.