With the launch of new a mobile app and Web interface, Humana is trying to get employers to see the big picture when it comes to employer wellness.
The app, called Goal Guru, pulls in data from multiple sources, including fitness trackers and other health and wellness apps. It also provides a platform for wellness coaching and for competition among employees.
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Humana introduced Goal Guru Tuesday, just in time for millions of Americans to overeat on Thanksgiving Day this Thursday.
“We want to support employers on their journey to creating a culture of well-being,” said Kristine Mullen, vice president of wellness at Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana. “It’s really about looking holistically at individuals,” Mullen explained.
And when she said holistically, she meant it. Humana is encouraging employer plan sponsors to foster physical, social, emotional and even financial well-being. Financial stress can be a major impediment to people taking care of their health.
Employers might run challenges related to donations, volunteering or financial management, Mullen noted.
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Goal Guru has strong social and game-like components. “You can heckle and taunt your peers,” Mullen said, though she would not go as far as to call it smack talk. This helps create motivation and accountability, according to Mullen.
Humana is betting that getting employers involved will produce better results than some payers have had with purely consumer-facing health and wellness apps.
Back in March, Aetna eliminated some jobs — one report said 33 layoffs — when it combined its iTriage and WellMatch digital health tools into the payer’s Healthagen business unit.
Two years ago, Aetna walked away from its much-hyped CarePass fitness platform, even after signing up an impressive roster of more than 30 digital health companies as partners. The payer also shut down InvolveCare, a caregiver support app, in 2014.
Despite those setbacks, a report from German firm Research2Guidance last month found that 82 percent of mobile health app developers would like to see more apps from health insurers. The report said payers would be the second-most important distribution channel for m-health apps over the next five years, trailing only app stores.
Photo: Humana