UnitedHealthcare launched a Lifestyle Spending Account on Thursday that aims to give employers a flexible way to fund employees’ health needs.
The Lifestyle Spending Account is integrated with UHC Store, a digital shop available on the UnitedHealthcare app and myuhc.com. The Lifestyle Spending Account is a post-tax benefit that members can use to purchase healthcare products and services through the UHC Store, including offerings for women’s health, mental health, family planning, pregnancy, nutrition, fitness, diabetes, musculoskeletal health and more. These products aren’t usually eligible for other accounts like Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts.
“The LSA is designed to help empower people to personalize their experience at any time during the year (not just open enrollment) and shop for products and services to complement their other employer-sponsored benefits as they see fit. … Because UnitedHealthcare’s LSA is integrated with a member-exclusive digital shop, people don’t have to wait to be reimbursed since the transaction is handled at the point of purchase within the individual’s UHC Store experience,” said Alison Kosup, chief product officer for UnitedHealthcare’s commercial business, in an email.
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The benefit is available to more than 15 million UnitedHealthcare commercial members.
UnitedHealthcare launched this new benefit to support an evolving workforce. Gen Z and millennials represent more than half of UnitedHealthcare’s commercial members, and younger employees are increasingly demanding holistic offerings that fit their lifestyles, Kosup added.
“UHC Store and the integrated LSA offer a way for employers to fund categories of wellness and lifestyle offerings their employees value and increasingly expect, expanding financial support beyond what traditional health accounts and coverage offer,” Kosup said. “For employers, the LSA allows them to expand the support, flexibility and choice they provide the workforce without totally redesigning their health plans. Point solutions and vendor offerings may not be relevant for the whole workforce and come with significant costs. The LSA allows people to choose the offerings that are right for them.”
This comes as about 76% of employers expect to offer a Lifestyle Spending Account over the next three years, according to a survey from WTW. In addition, 88% of employees believe well-being is as important as salary and 78% expect their employers to support it, a Wellhub survey found.
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Kosup noted that the new benefit is part of UnitedHealthcare’s strategy to introduce more digital shopping experiences into healthcare. It previously introduced the Surest health plan, which “gives people the info they need upfront to shop for health care services and care options.”
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