iHealthcare: Apple to enter the health insurance game?
As we close in on the end of the year, it’s time again to make predictions about what the future holds. One attention-grabbing headline last week was “Apple Will Launch Health Insurance In 2024, Says Analyst” in Forbes, and it has raised a few eyebrows among us benefit consultants. According to an analyst at CCS Insights, Ben Wood, Apple’s entry into the healthcare space is a no-brainer because of their accumulation of health-related data from Apple Watch users. Now, we don’t know if Apple is actually going to enter the health insurance fray or not, but it’s fun to imagine what it might look like if they did…
What their technology can do for health
Apple has two key products that have the potential to impact individual health: the iPhone and the Apple Watch. Features of the Apple Watch represent significant advancements in remote monitoring, which can in turn help people better manage their chronic conditions, health, and well-being overall. The iPhone can store health records and connect users to an ecosystem of Health-related apps. Apple excels at the delivery of personalization, something woefully lacking in healthcare today. With their existing consumer analytics and individual health data from their devices, Apple might be able to use behavioral economics principles like nudges and micro-rewards to impact health behaviors, ultimately changingthe trajectory of an individual’s overall health. They already use these principles to promote healthy activity to Watch users (like when your Watch tells you you’ve been sitting for too long), so is it really so hard to imagine it pinging you to make your next preventive care appointment, check your A1C, or take your maintenance medications?
What their data can do for an insurance plan
Having population-level data on all these metrics could help with underwriting and enable Apple to potentially take financial risks that others are not in a position to take. This data could also be used to structure novel plan designs that reward individual healthy behaviors that can be tracked with great accuracy on the Apple Watch and with the iPhone. Imagine having a personalized plan that meets your health needs and risk profile, based on the data captured and shared by your Apple Watch and iPhone. Your premium and out-of-pocket costs are directly impacted by your health choices – an attractive prospect for consumers who are motivated to engage with their health and want to see the financial rewards associated with their good behaviors and choices.
Will Apple be the newest health insurer on the block in 2024? The magic 8-ball says “Ask again later”.