Why Healthcare Insurers Love Wearable Tech

By Jim McAluney

2015 saw the growth of a new category of tech products. Everyone is familiar with fitness trackers, but to have one on your wrist that tracks everything required was something new. Nike and Apple had collaborated for a fitness tracking app, which could be used to stay fit and healthy. Now, up until last year, this market was pretty stagnant. But with big names like Samsung, Apple, Motorola and many others foraying into the smartwatch industry, the growth has been exponential. In 2016, the revenue from the wearable tech is expected to spill over the $30 billion mark. Healthcare insurers are going all out in promoting wearable tech to help the enrollees reach certain fitness levels.

What’s in it for the enrollees? The largest health insurance group in America, UnitedHealth Group is offering an incentive of $1,500 to their health plan enrollees. UnitedHealth Group has tied up with chipset manufacturer Qualcomm, for a fitness tracker. That is not all, reports from in and around the industry suggest that more and more insurers will be offering financial incentives to the wearers, for achieving a healthier life. The two most important things to have before a workout is determination and motivation. A financial incentive is sure to motivate many people to achieve their fitness goals.

Here are three of the best wearable tech gadgets which you can buy that can do more than just tracking health. FitBit is leading the race when it comes to fitness trackers. Their products are of great quality and have a lot of awesome features.

1. FitBit Surge

Investing around $220 for a fitness tracker might not seem like a good idea at first. But think about it. What if your healthcare insurer has an incentive lined up for you? FitBit Surge is FitBit’s top of the line product. FitBit Surge is not meant for those who like a small band on their wrists. It is a bit clunky but comes with a huge list of features. It can be synced with your smartphone to receive call and text notifications. It has a large enough display and can continuously monitor heart rates. The other information that can be tracked include the number of steps taken, distance covered, calories burned, floors climbed and active minutes. The watch is designed more like a unisex wearable, so anyone can buy it without thinking too much.

2. Xiaomi Mi Band 1S Pulse

Going from $220, down to just over $22. Xiaomi is known to produce great quality products at a fraction of the price that their rivals offer. Same is the case with the Mi Band 1S Pulse. Costing just a bit more than $22, it is the cheapest fitness tracker that is available in the market right now. Xiaomi had earlier launched the Mi Band and that was received very well by the users. But it received flak for mobile app and its inability to link with other fitness and social apps. All these things persist on the Mi Band 1S Pulse too. But now there is an optical heart rate sensor which gives improved readings than before as well as a better polycarbonate band.  The battery life is awesome and will run for around 30 days.

3. FitBit One

Like mentioned earlier, FitBit leads the market when it comes to wearable fitness trackers. FitBit One has a different design compared to most of the other trackers. It has a clip on design and can be clipped on anywhere, like your shirts’ pocket, your belt, your pocket or anywhere you can possibly think of. The device can monitor all sorts of movement just like the FitBit Surge. It costs around $80 and is awesome for those who want a fitness tracker that is not worn on your wrist.