HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced the launch of the Aetna FitnessSM Reimbursement Program. The program allows Aetna members to get money back for a wide range of activities that can help them lead healthier lives, including:
- Gym membership fees and group exercise classes
- Personal Training
- Fitness equipment purchases
- Weight management and nutrition counseling services
The program was jointly designed with GlobalFit®, the nation’s leading provider of physical activity programs for businesses around the world. Aetna is the only national health insurer to work with GlobalFit on a reimbursement program of this magnitude. The program will begin on January 1, 2013 and is currently being offered to Aetna’s employer customers in National Accounts, Middle Markets and Public & Labor. Members will only be eligible for the program if their employer chooses to implement the Aetna Fitness Reimbursement Program.
“We know it is hard to stay healthy. The Aetna Fitness Reimbursement Program makes it easier for members to do the things that can help them be as healthy as possible,” said Susan Kosman, R.N., Aetna’s chief nursing officer. “Providing members with money back through this program helps address the financial challenge that people often face when they are trying to improve their health.”
Flexibility for Members and Employers
The Aetna Fitness Reimbursement Program enables members to choose the approach to getting and staying healthy that best fits their lifestyle. Members will be reimbursed for different health and fitness purchases through the program and members can also save more money through a separate Aetna FitnessSM discount program. For more than a decade, Aetna members have benefited from savings on gym memberships and name-brand at-home fitness and nutrition products through GlobalFit’s Gym Network.
The Aetna Fitness Reimbursement Program also gives employers the flexibility to customize parts of the program to fit their overall wellness strategy. For example, employers can select:
- The annual reimbursement amount for their employees;
- To make their employees’ spouses and dependents (age 16 and older) eligible for the program; and
- To offer the program to employees who may not be enrolled in an Aetna benefits plan.
To help simplify this program for employers, GlobalFit will handle all of the administrative tasks associated with reimbursing participants.
“Offering this program is a tangible way that employers can show their employees that they are committed to their well-being,” Kosman said. “As part of a comprehensive wellness strategy, this program can help employers lower their health care costs and create a more productive and engaged workforce.”
“GlobalFit creates every program with the employee at the center, and Aetna shares this value. Together we have designed a program that gives employees what they want – a streamlined user experience and to be recognized and rewarded for a more active lifestyle. The Aetna Fitness Reimbursement Program further demonstrates the passionate commitment both companies have to creating a healthier world one employee at a time,” said Matthew Laffer, GlobalFit’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships.
Helping Employers Create a Wellness Strategy
The Aetna Fitness Reimbursement Program is one part of Aetna’s overall wellness strategy for employers. Aetna’s health and wellness products and programs help members achieve better health and help employers manage health care costs.
The Aetna Health Connections Get Active!SM wellness program allows employers to set up a companywide fitness and healthy lifestyle choice competition. The program uses social media among a company’s employees to provide support and positive reinforcement for employees who want to change their lifestyle habits and achieve personal health goals. Participants can post and respond to challenges, form groups and teams, and get peer support to overcome hurdles and boost motivation. The program has resulted in a 0.78-point body-mass-index (BMI) reduction (roughly 5.54 pounds of weight loss) per person across Aetna’s customers.
Aetna is continuing to promote the use of social media tools in wellness programs with the recent launch of Aetna Everactive. Aetna Everactive is a new social community that brings together virtual health and fitness resources with opportunities to participate in real-life local events. Aetna members get both encouragement and easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides to health and fitness for all fitness levels through this program.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services and health information technology services. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.
About GlobalFit
GlobalFit is a leading provider of physical activity programs for businesses around the world. For more than 20 years, GlobalFit has worked with companies to offer innovative programs that help employees get moving and improve their health. GlobalFit is offered by more employers than any other program including 25% of the Fortune 1000. For more information on how GlobalFit is “Changing Lives through Physical Activity,” visit www.globalfit.com.