Employee Health Benefits Emerge as a New Frontier in Healthcare: How Domestic and Global Enterprises Are Pioneering the Path

In 2010, Harvard University conducted a highly notable study at the time to determine whether corporate spending on employee health benefits actually reduced medical costs and improved employee productivity. The results were clear:For every $1 spent, $3 is saved in absenteeism losses and $3 in healthcare costs.。

Promoting health management services through enterprises is a clever and highly effective approach. At a time when the general public often overlooks health management due to a lack of awareness or perceived inconvenience, encouragement from employers carries significant persuasive power: by doing so, we can stay away from disease and continue to thrive in our professional roles.

Based on the cases collected both domestically and internationally by VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat), we have observed that an increasing number of enterprises are emphasizing health-related benefits, with many choosing to outsource employee healthcare management to insurance companies and third-party health management firms. Consequently, employee health benefit services are emerging as a new strategic frontier in the healthcare sector and gradually becoming a primary revenue source for many health management companies.

Employee Health Management in the United States: A Long and Tortuous HistoryDuring World War II, labor shortages coincided with government-imposed wage controls that prohibited companies from attracting workers by raising wages. Consequently, businesses sought alternative ways to enhance employee benefits, one of which was providing health insurance coverage for their staff.

Due to various historical factors within its healthcare system, the United States has long struggled with persistently high medical costs, with insurance companies bearing the brunt of this burden. In response, stakeholders have recognized health management as a powerful tool for cost containment in practice, leading to the proposal and widespread adoption of insurance models such as Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), which emphasize preventive care.

At this juncture, third-party health management companies capable of helping insurers control costs began collaborating with various enterprises to provide employee health benefits. To this day, collaborations between enterprises and external health management providers have become commonplace, taking diverse forms that continue to evolve annually.

UnitedHealth Issues Fitbits to Employees: The “Motion” Program Heavily Invests in Encouraging Exercise

UnitedHealthcare is rolling out a “Motion” program that encourages employees to exercise. In early 2017, all participating employees received a Fitbit Charge 2 fitness tracker to monitor whether they met their daily activity goals. The devices used were specially customized and modified by Fitbit for the “Motion” program.

By participating in this program, employees can earn rewards of up to $4 per day for meeting their exercise and health goals. Over the course of a year, an individual can accumulate up to $1,500 in “Health Savings.” This program alsoEffectively Apply IoT and Smart Hardware Technologies to Employee Health Managementa typical example.

HMA Employee Health Navigation Program: Prioritizing Data and Human-Centric Communication

U.S.-based HMA (Healthcare Management Administrators) is a company specializing in customizing employee insurance solutions and health management programs for enterprises. Unlike the holistic services offered by most third-party health management companies, HMA emphasizes the importance of interpersonal communication and care in maintaining health, adhering to a one-on-one approach to employee health management.

Among these initiatives, the “Health Navigation Project” it launched is a personalized health service targeted at individuals with high disease risk. To identify and assess high-risk populations, HMA employs two methods: first, flagging individuals with high insurance claim frequencies; second, monitoring detailed health data of corporate employees through predictive analytics, whereby those with abnormal indicators are identified as suspected “high-risk individuals.” For employees deemed at high disease risk, HMA assigns dedicated specialists to engage in direct consultations, assessing their recent health status and needs, and providing tailored health recommendations.

Reportedly, HMA’s approach of assigning dedicated personnel to communicate with employees about their health status has boosted employee participation in health management to 77%, whereas similar initiatives within the industry typically achieve only a 5% participation rate. Moreover, companies participating in this program have seen a year-on-year decline in their medical insurance reimbursement expenditures. The achievements of this program can be attributed to two key factors—Health Big Data Technology, Personalized Health Guidance。

Commercial health insurance in China is not a dominant payer, which has led to a relatively late development of employee health management concepts. However, modern Chinese enterprises have embraced international human resource management practices, placing greater emphasis on employee benefits. This shift has become the primary driver for the advancement of employee health management in China.

Currently, some health management companies in the market have taken on the corporate health services of major enterprises and public institutions, andEach healthcare service provider has its own unique business characteristics, reflecting its distinct brand style.Among them, some are asset-heavy institutions that have expanded from offline physical examinations to comprehensive health services, characterized by a stronger focus on offline services and the advantage of possessing tangible medical resources. Others are “asset-light” enterprises engaged in mobile health management, distinguished by their superior performance in the digitalization and visualization of health information, as well as the convenience of accessing services. In recent years, different types of health service providers have often complemented each other’s resources and strengths, forming collaborations in corporate health management.

iKang Guobin

iKang Guobin, which was listed on the NASDAQ in 2014, also pursues internationalization in corporate health management—it is one of the first institutions to introduce Western employee health management models into China.

Its distinguishing feature lies inTiered Management of Enterprise Personnel: Coordinate with the Human Resources Department to develop targeted health and wellness programs tailored to three employee categories: senior executives, middle management, and general staff. Services include customized health screenings, interpretation of screening reports, vaccinations, health seminars, and on-site corporate clinics. Employees can also access their personal health records via a dedicated corporate health management online platform.

Miao Health

Miao Health, a typical mobile health management company, originally leveraged its big data platform, “Miao+,” to collect and process data from hundreds of smart devices. The company is now applying this capability for handling large volumes of health data to corporate employee health management. By partnering with medical examination providers and insurance companies, Miao Health is able to offer a wider variety of health services without increasing employers’ health budgets. These services include interpretation of medical examination reports, telemedicine consultations, self-testing and medication guidance, appointment registration assistance, multi-dimensional health assessments, and regular health-themed engaging activities for enterprises.

Miao Health's Proprietary AI Algorithm:Health Behavior Index(abbreviated as “M value”), by conducting a comprehensive analysis of employee health behaviors and physical metrics, medical examination reports, and periodic health questionnaires, it presents users' health behaviors in quantitative terms to help them intuitively understand their health status; furthermore, it formulates personalized health behavior promotion plans based on each user's habits, guiding them to improve unhealthy behaviors across multiple dimensions, including exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mental well-being.

One distinctive feature of the service is that Miao Health can also customize solutions for corporate employees.Health ManagementVisualization Backend, facilitating HR departments in monitoring employee participation and health assessment status.

Guokang

Guokang is an integrated enterprise combining health insurance and health management, serving as both a medical payer and a provider of health management services. Therefore, itsThe health program is highly holistic., and provide lifelong care services for corporate clients. The service is positioned in the high-end market, including collaborating with premium health check-up centers and medical institutions to offer health screening packages, as well as providing private physician services and specialized critical illness case management. According to available data, companies vary in their selection of employee health services, with chronic disease management, health check-up coordination, and priority access channels to renowned specialists typically being the key focus areas.