Will health insurance cover Series 4 as a medical device?

[mjr1000]

Any thoughts on this?

 

[drjerryk]

Any thoughts on this?[/QUOTE

Perhaps some Insurance companies will offer a discount or incentives to purchase the watch but I highly doubt they will cover the entire cost.

 

[pdxmatts]

Any thoughts on this?

Seeing as how US health insurance doesn't cover wrist/arm Blood pressure/Heart monitors, I don't think they will. No harm in calling your insurance to ask though

 

[cwanja]

I have seen some do it, but rarely. Depends on your health insurance provider. And then depends on the model you want. Likely only going to be aluminum and GPS-only. So if you want stainless steel and or LTE - you need to foot the bill. Or sell the free one and cover the difference.

 

[wizzywig27]

In the UK Vitality offered the Apple Watch S3 for free (£29 up front) if you kept active

 

[cwanja]

In the UK Vitality offered the Apple Watch S3 for free (£29 up front) if you kept active

Define kept active? Is that an active account or are you having to send in data that says you closed your rings?

 

[wizzywig27]

Not sure how it works in fine detail, but yes, download the app and I’m sure it shares your activities with them. I think just accessing the gym is enough but again I’m not 100% certain.

You pay anything from £0 - £29 pm iirc depending on how active you are.

 

[ActionableMango]

Any thoughts on this?

For most plans you will need a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) from your doctor stating that the device is directly related to a medical condition you have.

If you have one of those "catastrophic" health plans only, then almost certainly not.

 

[pdxmatts]

For most plans you will need a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) from your doctor stating that the device is directly related to a medical condition you have.

If you have one of those "catastrophic" health plans only, then almost certainly not.

I have a feeling they will tell you to go by a portable heart monitor and a fit bit.

 

[ActionableMango]

I have a feeling they will tell you to go by a portable heart monitor and a fit bit.

For a consumer item with fitness tracking as only one of its many features, a typical plan will pay for the portion of the cost that is similar to a dedicated health device, assuming you have an LMN.

So for example if a typical heart monitor costs $200 but you buy a $20,000,000 gold plated, diamond-encrusted Bugatti Chiron with a heart monitor built into its steering wheel, the insurance company could theoretically cover $200 of the Bugatti and you'd have to cover the other $19,999,800.

 

[scmill]

It depends on what plan you have, but UHG is supplying the AW for their Motion program:

https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/newsroom/2018/0307motionapplewatch.html

 

[yoheywut]

Just throwing a data point out. I submitted my Apple Watch first generation back in 2015 and put fitnesses tracker/ heart rate monitor. And it was approved. Worst case they deny it but it worked for me back then.

 

[sean000]

Yeah it’s going to depend on your plan. If you have a Flexible Spending Account for healthcare, you might be able to use that as well. Of course an FSA/HSA is your own money, but at least it’s not taxed as income... so it’s something of a discount.

My employer provided plan has me submit attestations saying whether or not I’m a smoker (I’m not) and whether I get regular activity (I do). Smokers get billed an extra $30 a month or so. Once they asked if I wear a fitness tracker, but with the caveat that it is just for informational purposes and they not offering discounts for wearing one at this time.