A new study has found that incentivising workers to achieve cost-saving individual health goals, such as losing weight, works best in an environment where they are competitive with other people. Under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, American employers who provide health insurance to their workers will soon be allowed to offer their staff even larger financial incentives to improve their health. It is though that this could potentially lead to savings on health care premiums.
This has come about as researchers have found that people tend to more regularly achieve personal health goals when they are given rewards based on group performance. It was actually found that group-based incentives were three times more effective.
In the study, a team of government-funded researchers analysed two different types of incentive strategies for health goals among obese workers at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. In the first, the test group received $100 per month for meeting or exceeding their weight-loss goals. The second group placed individuals in teams of five for a combined pot of $500. Adding slight complexity, the researchers allowed some of those being tested to earn more than their usual share when other members failed to meet their goals.
At the end of the study it was clear that the incentives were substantially more powerful when they were large sums that were offered to groups. Both policymakers and employers who are considering using schemes of this nature now have something extra to think about. The results have called into question whether it should be officially recommended that incentives be offered in groups.
Despite the very serious health and financial consequences of being obese, the problem simply isn’t getting any better and there is great interest in identifying potential new approaches to combating this major health issue in the United States.
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