Apple Watch Healthcare Insurance, Ohio medical billing
In a recent article, we discussed how traditionally non-medical companies are increasingly moving into the healthcare industry.
In this case, the non-medical company was the successful ride-sharing startup Uber, who was starting to offer medical transportation services to local hospitals. Again, this is the delivery of a medical service from a corporation which is not traditionally thought of as a medical company in the healthcare marketplace.
In the blog post, we asked the question “will Facebook and Apple follow these trends and partner with an Ohio Health or Blue Shield type organization?”
Well, apparently we here at ABCS RCM were on to something. Last Tuesday, on September 27, Apple announced that they will be partnering with Aetna and offer the Apple Watch through a new insurance provider program.
According to CNN, “the health insurance provider announced on Tuesday it will subsidize the cost of the device for some of its customers.” Aetna will pay for part of the cost of the Apple Watch if customers plan to use the device to track their health. The insurance provider did not mention how much it would contribute to the smart watch’s purchase price, but they said they would let customers pay for the watch through monthly payroll deductions.
Aetna will be the first major healthcare company to cover, at least part of, the cost of Apple’s smartwatch. This means other smartwatches and similar devices manufacturers will likely follow suit. But why would a tech company located in Cupertino, California want to partner with an insurance company based out of Hartford, Connecticut?
Currently, healthcare is a major area of growth in the U.S. economy, with this trend predicted to continue and actually increase over the next few decades.
Major U.S. companies like Apple are fully aware of this trend and are trying to capture a piece of this market. One would be safe to assume that Google and Samsung may also partner with major insurance companies in order to provide their own fitness/health devices.
So will social media companies like Facebook and Twitter also try to enter the healthcare marketplace? This combination of technology, insurance and healthcare will likely only increase in the future.
Here at Advanced Billing and Consulting Services we will watch these trends and report on the changes in the industry. One of the few things that we can always assume is that change is here to stay.
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Here is the link to the CNN article: An insurance company is subsidizing Apple Watches for its customers
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Apple Watch Healthcare Insurance, Ohio medical billing