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• New ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD) model, enabled by Qualcomm Life, allows more activity trackers to be integrated to provide program participants with access to leading wearable brands and greater choice; integration is underway for the Fitbit Charge 2;
• UnitedHealthcare Motion now available in 40 states, up from 12 states at launch, and has been expanded to companies with five or more eligible employees;
• More than 100,000 UnitedHealthcare plan participants have access to activity trackers through Motion, having earned millions of dollars in financial incentives.
UnitedHealthcare and Qualcomm Incorporated, through its wholly owned subsidiary Qualcomm Life, Inc., today announced enhancements and the expansion of UnitedHealthcare Motion™, a wellness program that provides employees with activity trackers at no additional charge and enables them to earn up to $1,460 per year by meeting certain goals for the number of daily steps.
UnitedHealthcare Motion is being showcased at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017, the annual technology convention in Las Vegas.
The two companies introduced UnitedHealthcare Motion in 2016 as a pilot in 12 states to select employers, using Qualcomm Life’s 2net™ Platform* for medical-grade connectivity that features multiple safeguards to help keep data secure. Following the successful test, the program was expanded to 40 states for employers with five or more eligible employees with a self-funded health plan, and will now include access to additional customized activity trackers through a ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD) model.
Leveraging UnitedHealthcare Motion activity trackers, employees can earn up to $4 per day in deductible credits based on the F.I.T. goals, which stands for frequency of walking (six times per day with 300 steps within five minutes), intensity (3,000 steps within 30 minutes) and tenacity (10,000 total steps each day). Employers can obtain premium savings based on program participants’ combined F.I.T. results. People who consistently achieve the F.I.T. goals may have improved health and lower medical expenses, according to a UnitedHealthcare analysis.
Qualcomm Life will leverage its open connected health ecosystem and connectivity expertise to provide secure data transfer from the devices to the Motion app and to UnitedHealthcare. Qualcomm Life will also enable a BYOD model to allow the integration of more approved activity trackers into the 2net Platform and UnitedHealthcare Motion providing participants with more choice. Integrated activity trackers will be customized to enable users to see on their wrists how they are tracking against the program’s three daily F.I.T. goals.
“The growth of UnitedHealthcare Motion showcases the value of providing companies and their employees with personalized, connected health and wellness resources,” said Richard Migliori, M.D., chief medical officer of UnitedHealth Group. “Wearable technology can help encourage employees to walk each day and earn financial rewards at the same time, using secure technology that we believe is intuitive and convenient.”
The Fitbit Charge 2™ will be the newest activity tracker integrated and validated with 2net and UnitedHealthcare Motion in this BYOD model. The custom Motion feature will be made available in early 2017 on any Charge 2 device already in market.
“As the global wearables leader[1], we have taken another big digital health step forward by integrating with Qualcomm Life and the UnitedHealthcare Motion program to enable people to fulfill their fitness goals and be rewarded for living a healthier lifestyle,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO, Fitbit (NYSE:FIT). “Our team custom designed this feature to help give UnitedHealthcare Motion program participants activity insights right on their wrists, demonstrating our commitment to making our products an integral tool to evidence-based consumer health programs.”
Employers are expected to incorporate more than 13 million wearable and fitness tracking devices into their wellness programs by 2018, according to technology consultancy Endeavors Partners. A related study published in Science & Medicine showed people tend to overestimate how much exercise they get each week by more than 50 minutes, and they underestimate sedentary time by more than two hours, underscoring the importance of a wellness program like UnitedHealthcare Motion.
“By combining UnitedHealthcare’s leadership and broad reach with Qualcomm Life’s unique ability to provide effortless connectivity across an open, expansive ecosystem of wearables, UnitedHealthcare Motion will continue to help engage people throughout the country with the goal of enhancing their well-being,” said James Mault, M.D., F.A.C.S., vice president and chief medical officer of Qualcomm Life.
Qualcomm Life and UnitedHealthcare at CES
Qualcomm Life and UnitedHealthcare will demonstrate at CES new technologies designed to simplify the consumer health care experience by making helpful, practical information more accessible through personal technology devices such as computers, smartphones and wearables.
The two companies will give away 500 activity trackers to CES attendees as part of a fundraiser. All 500 device recipients will be encouraged to walk 10,000 steps on Saturday, Jan. 7, with the goal of collectively walking 5 million steps. As part of the walking challenge, UnitedHealthcare and Qualcomm Incorporated will each donate $25,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Results of the challenge will be available at qualcommlife.com/5millionsteps.
UnitedHealthcare Motion will be displayed at the Qualcomm booth (No. 10948) in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and near the Digital Health Studio Live in the Sands Convention Center.
At CES 2017, executives from both companies will speak, including:
• Dr. Mault will speak on a CES panel,“Prescription for Profits: The Value of Connected Health,” on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 10:15 am. in the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, N261. He will speak on a panel,“The Big Debate: Snake Oil or Slow Start,” on Friday, Jan. 6, at 4:30 pm. in the Venetian, Level 4, Lando 4303.
• Craig Hankins, UnitedHealthcare vice president of digital products, will speak on a session titled “Beyond Those 10,000 Steps” on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 3:15 pm. in the Venetian, Level 4, Lando 4303.
• Dr. Deneen Vojta, UnitedHealth Group executive vice president of research & development, will speak on a panel,“Tech Combats the Terrible Trio: Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease,” on Friday, Jan. 6, from 9:35 to 10:20 am. at the Venetian, Level 4, Lando 4303.
• Dr. Migliori will provide a keynote,“Exploring the International Frontiers,” on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 11:15 am. in the Venetian, Level 4, Lando 4303.
• Tom Beauregard, UnitedHealth Group executive vice president and chief innovation officer, will speak on a CES Digital Health Summit panel,“The Palpable Future of Workplace Wellness,” on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 11:30 am. in the Venetian, Level 4, Lando 4303.
About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm’s technologies powered the smartphone revolution and connected billions of people. We pioneered 3G and 4G and now, we are leading the way to 5G and a new era of intelligent, connected devices. Our products are revolutionizing industries including automotive, computing, IoT and healthcare, and are allowing millions of devices to connect with each other in ways never before imagined. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including our semiconductor business, QCT, and our mobile, automotive, computing, IoT and healthcare businesses.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare (uhc.com) is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
[1] IDC Q316 WW wearables report, December 2016: idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41996116
Contact: Will Shanley - UnitedHealthcare
P: 714-204-8005 - E: will.shanley[.]uhc.com.
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jeisinge[.]qualcommlife.com 
