NEW YORK and TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 8,
2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:
WCG) announced today it is working with the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) to partner with Wellth Inc., a
behavioral economics company, to help motivate at-risk Medicaid
members in New York to adopt
healthy behaviors and adhere to care plans to better manage their
hypertension.
Through the partnership, WellCare and Wellth aim to enroll at
least 200 participants who are currently prescribed medication for
hypertension. Using the Wellth smartphone app, members enrolled in
the program are reminded to take their medications each day, and
certain members are eligible to earn financial rewards in the form
of gift cards for adopting healthy behaviors such as low-sodium
diets and adhering to their daily prescription drug regimens.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimates non-adherence causes 30 to 50% of chronic disease
treatment failures and more than 125,000 deaths in the United States each year," said Dr.
Richard Petrucci, WellCare's chief
medical officer in New York. "At
WellCare, we're honored to work with the NIH and to partner with
Wellth to help our members address their hypertension, adhere to
their care plans, and improve their overall health and
well-being."
"We are excited to partner with WellCare to help motivate and
incentivize Medicaid members in New
York to adopt healthier behaviors to better manage their
hypertension," said Matt Loper, CEO
of Wellth. "Ultimately, we hope these behaviors will stick, leading
to higher engagement, better health outcomes and lower costs."
The program, which was co-designed by behavioral economist Uri
Gneezy and doctoral candidate Alicea
Lieberman, runs through August
2020. Upon program completion, NIH, which is funding the
program, will review all program results. Study outcomes will
provide a better understanding of how mental accounting and
targeted financial incentives that leverage behavioral economics
can be used to design effective adherence interventions.
"We are honored for the opportunity to partner in this
innovative program to support adherence to member hypertension care
plans," said Angel Ballew, vice
president, pharmacy clinical programs. "We hope this program will
give insight into additional opportunities for us to start using
behavioral economics to a greater extent to motivate members'
adherence to their daily health regimens."
As of September 30, 2019, WellCare
serves approximately 304,000 members in New York, including 151,000 Medicaid members,
88,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 64,000 Medicare
Prescription Drug Plan members.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in
Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health
Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses primarily on providing
government-sponsored managed care services to families, children,
seniors and individuals with complex medical needs primarily
through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug
Plans, as well as individuals in the Health Insurance Marketplace.
WellCare serves approximately 6.4 million members nationwide as of
September 30, 2019. For more
information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at
www.wellcare.com.
About Wellth Inc.
Wellth is a digital behavior change company that motivates
patients to adhere to their care plans using scalable,
evidence-based strategies from behavioral economics. Our mission is
to empower people living with chronic conditions to make healthy
choices every day, driving better clinical outcomes and lower costs
of care for health insurers and providers. Our advisory board
includes former CEOs of the American Diabetes Association and
American College of Cardiology, and we have been recognized with
digital health innovation awards from the American Heart
Association, American College of Cardiology, Heritage Provider
Network, and Accenture. Wellth is based in both New York City and Los Angeles. For more information about
Wellth, please visit the company's website at
www.wellthapp.com.
Disclaimer: Research reported in this publication was supported
by the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of
Health under Award Number R41AG056184. The content is solely the
responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent
the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nih-partners-with-wellcare-and-wellth-for-new-program-that-rewards-new-york-medicaid-members-for-managing-hypertension-300983078.html
SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.