Health insurance giant Humana Inc. has begun offering camping gear, cameras and even hotel rooms in the Caribbean to customers who see the doctor and undergo tests for blood pressure and cholesterol.
And when the new year arrives, Blue Shield of California will introduce its new Blue Groove plan offering breaks of up to $500 on insurance premiums or healthcare costs to policyholders in the Sacramento area who fill out health questionnaires and get medical screenings.
Growing numbers of employers and insurance companies, stung by continued hikes in healthcare costs, are offering employees money and merchandise to lead healthier lives. Advocates of the approach are betting that preventive action will keep workers productive and hold down healthcare bills for expensive diseases like cancer and diabetes.
Economists say it's too soon to tell whether rewards will be successful in the long run, but corporate leaders say the strategy is already paying off by helping to slow the growth of their medical costs.
And experts expect President Obama's healthcare overhaul to expand the use of incentives by upping the amount of money employers can use to entice workers to see the doctor.
"This is the next evolution in trying to squeeze costs out by not incurring them in the first place," said Sean Slovenski, chief executive of the firm handling rewards for Humana, which expects to enroll nearly 1 million customers in its incentive program in the coming months.
"It's not the holy grail, but it's a giant leap forward in bending the healthcare cost trend," Slovenski said.
Thousands of insured workers are jumping at incentives, even though employees at some sites complain about preferential treatment for colleagues healthy enough to win money or prizes.
American Express travel manager Carmen Macias signed up for the company's Walk This Way program in July, lured by an offer of $200 to pay for healthcare expenses.
Macias logged 2 1/2 miles a day for 12 weeks on a pedometer walking around her Irvine neighborhood. Once the program ended, she kept exercising, nearly doubling the distance she covers on weekdays while adding hiking and biking on weekends.
"It got me off the couch and away from the computer," Macias, 45, said of the program she credits for reducing her stress level and weight. "A whole new window has opened up."
The expanding use of incentives comes as employers grapple with record spending on healthcare.
The average price of employer-sponsored health insurance for families reached $15,073 this year, more than twice the cost a decade ago, the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation recently reported. This year's costs jumped 9% over 2010, with employers shouldering most of the increases.
Many companies are passing more costs along to employees, while some are reducing or canceling insurance altogether. Incentive programs offer an alternative.
National surveys highlight the changes underway.
One study by benefits consultant Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health found that 58% of large employers are offering money, insurance discounts or other inducements this year to workers who manage their weight or engage in other activities to improve their health. That's up from 52% in 2010 and 49% in 2009.
Another survey by Buck Consultants found that 62% of large companies offered incentives in 2010, and that 25% more plan to do so in the future.
"There is tremendous interest from employers," said Barry Hall, a principal in the consulting firm. "We've got this big surge in wellness programs, and incentives are the fastest-growing aspect of that."
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