Aetna makes an Apple Watch app—promises not to use activity data against you

Health insurance giant Aetna has teamed up with Apple to create a health-tracking app for Apple Watch that will have access to Aetna members’ medical data and offer monetary rewards for meeting personalized wellness goals.

The idea is to go beyond basic activity monitors and generic step goals, the two companies said in a debut event today, January 29, in Boston. Instead, the app, called Attain, will create tailored goals—drawing from Aetna members’ own insurance and medical information to do so—and provide nudges and incentives that aim to boost long-term health.

For any Aetna members wary of sharing such health tracking data with their insurer and Apple, the two companies emphasized that the app was packed with security features (such as continuous authentication) and privacy features (such as opt-in data sharing choices). Perhaps most importantly, Aetna promised that the “[i]nformation from this program will not be used for underwriting, premium or coverage decisions.”

The app was designed to “connect what we know about you” to health goals and “allow us to change behavior” to improve health, Alan Lotvin said during the Boston presentation. Lotvin is the chief transformation officer of CVS Health, which acquired Aetna late last year.

For the app, the insurer approached Apple to help develop a simple and secure design. Apple, whose CEO predicts such health tech will be the company’s “greatest contribution to mankind,” was happy to help. It drew inspiration from its already popular ring-based activity tracker on the Apple Watch.

“Our users love to close their rings every day,” Myoung Cha, head of Apple’s health strategic initiatives, said at today’s debut. But, he acknowledged, exercise plans are hard to stick to and generic notifications are easy to dismiss. “We think personalization is a lot of what’s missing here,” he said, adding that Aetna’s app is intended to “take personalized nudges to the next level.”

The result is Attain, which sets and tracks custom daily and weekly goals for sleep, nutrition, physical activity, and other medical needs. Those are all based on user-inputted health data (age, sex, and weight), plus insurance information and the watch’s sensor data. The goals are adjusted based on how well the user does at meeting them. In other words, if a user is struggling to meet goals, Attain may step them down. Or, if a user seems to be easily hitting goals, the app may ratchet them up and invite users to take part in health challenges. In today’s presentation, the developers said the app can also be adjusted to accommodate injuries and conditions, such as pregnancy. But users would have to contact Aetna to make such changes.

The app also notifies users when it’s time to take their medications, refill prescriptions, and get their annual physical and seasonal flu shot. And, if a medical provider orders medical scans or lab work, the app will chime in with recommended providers based, in part, on location and price.

Meeting all the goals and ticking off all those health to-do items earns users points, scores, and, ultimately, payouts. Aetna members who don’t already have an Apple Watch at the outset can buy one with a 24-month payment plan to start using Attain. For every month a member meets their goals, Aetna will cover their watch payment. (If you don’t hit your goals, you’re on the hook for the payment.) If a member already has an Apple Watch, the points they earn can be put toward gift cards at national retailers, such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, and Best Buy.

Aetna said it expects Attain will be available this spring in the App Store. However, members can sign up in advance to be among the first to test out the app.

All images obtained from Aetna