GiftCard Partners Blog

It is important to keep Medicare members engaged in a healthy lifestyle because they are more susceptible to disease due to their age. Keeping Medicare members healthy lowers costs for Medicare Payers and it is crucial for Accountable Care Organizations because they are rated on their readmittance and patient health.

Heart disease remains the #1 cause of death in the United States and creates an enormous burden for people, communities, and healthcare providers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 655,000 Americans die from heart disease each year, which is 1 in every 4 deaths (Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, 2020).  

Do you use your health plan as a trusted advisor to guide your healthy lifestyle initiatives? If you do, you’re not alone. Health plan enrollees, especially those enrolled in public health plans like Medicaid, look for guidance and incentive reinforcement on how to live a healthy lifestyle. This interaction is crucial as it not only encourages healthy behavior but also helps reduce overall plan costs.

Medicaid engagement is not always easy.  Keeping Medicaid members engaged in healthy activities can be a difficult task. But healthy activities are important for preventing chronic illnesses and keeping rising health care costs at bay. Incentives have a positive influence on Medicaid and keep members on track to getting the health care screenings needed to keep them well. Check out the ways incentives had a positive effect on Medicaid programs such as smoking cessation, weight loss, and more in the Infographic below.

As the country moves closer and closer to individual healthcare insurance requirements, Medicare and Medicaid are becoming pivotal in the American health care system. U.S. Medicaid and Medicare programs examine and implement health and wellness trends and incentives closely. Wellness incentives and healthy rewards are used in these programs to: