Aetna to offer employees and members a subsidy on the Apple Watch

• Care management and wellness, to help guide consumers through health events like a new diagnosis or prescription medication with user-driven support from nurses and people with similar conditions.
• Medication adherence, to help consumers remember to take their medications, easily order refills and connect with their doctor if they need a different treatment through their Apple Watch or iPhone.
• Integration with Apple Wallet, allowing consumers to check their deductible and pay a bill.
• Personalized health plan on-boarding, information, messaging and decision support to help Aetna members understand and make the most of their benefits.

Aetna employees will receive $130 from the company to use toward the purchase of the Apple Watch. In addition, they will receive up to $200 every year to help pay for gym memberships and the purchase of a fitness tracker. That means an Aetna employee will be able to buy an Apple Watch Series 1 model, which starts at $269, without laying out any additional money. If the employee doesn't mind having some pay deductied on a monthly basis, he or she can buy the Series 2 version of the Apple Watch, which starts at $369.

We haven't heard yet how much of a subsidy Aetna will give its big business customers or individual members. As far as Aetna is concerned, the hope is that the money it spends keeps its employees and subscribers out of the hospital and doctors' offices. That would allow the company to save more money than it plans on spending for the program.

source: 9to5Mac