SEATTLE – People who regularly exercise and eat well don’t often rack up many doctor’s visits. So shouldn’t they be rewarded for their good behavior?
Seattle-based EveryMove has closed $3.5 million in funding for its health care mileage program. The company also just launched its Android app, which follows an iPhone app that lets employees gain points for eating nutritious meals and going to the gym.
These points convert into rewards from brands, employers and health insurance providers. Everymove’s brand partners include Blue Nile, Cabela’s, Hotel Monaco and ESPN.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
To ensure that you’re actually getting to the gym, the company has partnered up with popular health trackers, such as MyFitnessPal and Endomondo.
It’s no surprise that the venture arm for Blue Cross participated in the first round of funding. Physically fit people are less likely to get sick, and therefore aren’t much of a liability for insurance providers.
“We are aggressively moving forward towards our vision of giving consumers more power to demonstrate the value of their healthy choices, said EveryMove CEO Russell Benaroya. The company will use the funding to bring its service to more companies and employees across the country.
This news comes just a day after we reported on an uptick in digital health funding this quarter. The personalized health space is particularly hot, according to new research by health incubator Rock Health.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
EveryMove faces some stiff competition in this space from corporate wellness providers, like Keas, and Medicaid programs that provide points for healthy behavior. In addition, companies are offering medical expense accounts to employees, which are tied to wellness or health management behaviors.
The first round of funding comes from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Sandbox Industries, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.
Filed under: Health
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This article originally appeared on VentureBeat
