Vitality Group Inc.

At Vitality, we talk a lot about incorporating new healthy habits into our lives. But sometimes, we have to talk about those unhealthy habits we find so hard to break. A new study (https://lnkd.in/eyrzSMus) underscores just how important it is for individuals with newly diagnosed heart disease to quit smoking. The researchers found that for those individuals who quit smoking within a year of diagnosis, their odds of heart attack or heart-related death dropped by almost half (44%!) over the next five years, compared to those who kept smoking. The odds for serious cardiac events rose by 8% for every added year smoking. Those with the lowest risk? Those who never smoked. It's never too late to kick the habit. Smoking is associated with a host of diseases and health risks – heart disease included. This study demonstrates that even if you already have heart disease, quitting smoking can have a tremendous positive impact on your health. While quitting smoking can feel impossible, with the right support systems it can be done! At Vitality, we wrap smoking cessation support into our personalized health journeys and can provide members with education, resources, and motivation to quit. Our Impact Study analyses found that 40% of Vitality members who testified to being smokers initially were non-smokers a few years later. Comprehensive lifestyle improvement support can make a huge difference…and our data shows it. Worth repeating one more time: It's never too late to quit smoking.

Resilience is a critical skill for coping with life's curveballs. Just this week, I failed at work, so am channeling my inner resilience hard, determined to learn and bounce back better! My two young daughters are already learning about resilience at elementary school. But did you know that resilience impacts our mortality? A new study in BMJ Mental Health found that seniors with higher levels of mental resilience were more than 50% less likely to die within the next 10 years than those with the lowest levels – yes, you read that right – more than 50%! Even among people with chronic conditions or unhealthy lifestyle habits, those with high mental resilience were 46% and 38% less likely to die within 10 years. The lesson? Resilience is a must-have for living a healthier, happier life. What are your top hacks for giving your mental health muscles a workout?

For many of us, being consistently physically active feels like an impossible feat. There are just simply not enough hours in the day for everything that has to get done, and often, one’s workout is the first thing to get cut from the to-do list. Of nearly 23,000 Vitality members surveyed earlier this year, one-third cite finding time and energy as the top barriers to exercise. While many behaviors are important as part of prevention, physical activity remains the single most important lifestyle activity for reducing risk. Wellness programs often claim they can help people be more active but fail to deliver real results. We think cookie-cutter recommendations are insufficient.  Our program supports people with more than basic advice. Our members receive challenging but achievable goals to help get them active, with weekly, gamified rewards for achieving their goals that keep them coming back for more. Importantly, most programs don’t provide ways for people with disabilities and injuries to achieve their goals. With medical conditions or surgeries/injuries affecting the ability to exercise for 9% and 5% of our members, respectively, we show up for all our members. Far beyond steps, our program uniquely allows anyone to participate with average heart rate goals and active calories, allowing people to choose the form of exercise that suits their needs best.

A recent McKinsey & Company article (https://lnkd.in/ghquGSme) offers a handful of guiding principles for MA plans to consider when integrating their star ratings tactics into the broader MA strategy, including enhancing member engagement, addressing care gaps and identifying members with social risk factors. For those plan leaders who are veterans in the Star space, these principles aren’t new – in fact, they’re table stakes. The crux of the matter is operationalizing your strategies to get there ... and doing it at scale.  While there are no shortcuts in Stars, Vitality Group Inc. believes investing in amplifying methodologies, such as digital tech and automation that bolsters your member experience and member engagement teams’ efforts, makes all the difference when it comes to growth, retention, satisfaction, and outcomes.   The part that’s particularly challenging to many plans? Securing consistent, sustained member engagement beyond care-seeking moments. For over 25 years, we’ve been helping organizations do just that. We are experts at engaging populations in health and lifestyle behaviors that impact their quality of life. Organically grown and built by a global health insurer, we’re industry leaders in understanding risk prediction, how to engage people in their health and the impact of health behavior change – all while making health journeys simple and rewarding for our members.  What are the most difficult parts of scaling member engagement for your organization? Would love your take on these smart call outs from McKinsey, as well as your view on the realities of operationalizing these strategies.