Fitness trackers: Monitor your health and earn dollars

What if you are paid to take a stroll around your office or neighborhood? You just have to wear a special activity tracker that monitors steps taken, "intensity" levels and other physical indicators and you can earn up to $1,400 annually towards your health insurance.

This is being offered in a new insurance product promoted by United Healthcare, the second-largest US health insurer, one of many programs aimed at boosting physical fitness and reducing health insurance costs for employers and employees.

Across the US, employers are encouraging healthier lifestyles by stepping up the use of technology in "wellness" programs which provides precise measurements and automated uploads to verify physical activity. “One of the greatest challenges we have is how to incentivize and motivate individuals to be accountable for their own heath and well- being," said Steve Beery of United Healthcare.

In a survey of more than 200 large employers in 2015 by the National Business Group on Health, it was found that nearly 37 percent used activity trackers and another 37 percent planned to adopt the technology in coming years. "There is a strong interest (in the use of technology) because of the impact on an employer's long-term health care costs," said Scott Marcotte of Xerox Human Resources, which participated in the study.

Makers of activity trackers such as Fitbit and Jawbone have been putting extra efforts to be part of corporate wellness programs.

In one of the biggest tie-ups announced last year Target, US retail giant said it would offer free or discounted Fitbit trackers to its more than 300,000 employees.Incentivizing the offer, Target said it would allow teams of employees which log the most average daily steps to collect more than $1 million for local non-profit organizations.

This strategy of providing financial incentives for healthy activity is known in the industry as "gamification." Health experts believe that financial incentives have the potential to make a difference in stimulating healthier behaviors. Growth in such programs over the past few years coincides with incentives to meet Obamacare goals on preventive care, and with new research suggesting that more activity can ward off many medical ailments.

Though these incentive driven health programs sound interesting, people are, however getting concerned about private data collected and stored by insurers. While employers and insurers must comply with US privacy regulations so that health data cannot be seen or used by employers, critics still worry.