RESEARCH

Driving Engagement    Research

VITALITY HAS SUCCEEDED IN CHANGING BEHAVIOR AND IMPROVING HEALTH

Vitality is successfully helping members to get healthier. The proof continues to mount.

Study proves the Vitality health enhancement program cuts healthcare costs by motivating health behaviors:

With companies searching for ways to cut costs and increase productivity, a new longitudinal study of 374,479 working men and women confirms that the Vitality health enhancement program represents a powerful tool in the increasingly common business practice of trimming healthcare benefit costs. The data shows that programs designed with appropriate incentives deliver on the promise of lowering healthcare spending by prompting healthy habits. The analysis covered all employees and spouses who were enrolled for a period of at least 36 months, from January 1, 2002 to June 30, 2007, and included 33,196,197 member months of data.

The research was conducted by The Vitality Group’s parent organization, South Africa-based Discovery Holdings Limited, and measured how engagement in the Vitality™ health enhancement program over a five-year period impacted health insurance claims. The research established that the number of members who became actively engaged in fitness activities increased by 79 percent during the testing period. More important, the study showed that healthcare costs rose by 28.7% less for initial inactive members that became engaged versus those who remained inactive.

Clearly, by motivating healthy behaviors that cut healthcare spending, health enhancement programs can and are contributing to increased profits and productivity.

44% of individual members surveyed say that being a Vitality member has encouraged them to improve their health

A client survey undertaken on Vitality in the UK found that over two-fifths (44%) of individual members surveyed said that being a Vitality member has encouraged them to improve their health, while over one -x third (36%) said they had changed their lifestyle in order to earn Vitality Bucks.