Connecting for change: a way to mitigate rising health care costs

Lia Gass Rodriguez, MD, Chief Medical Officer, and Larry Siegel, Executive Vice President, Informatics

February 19, 2024

Though it’s usually thought to be an issue related to aging adults, the reality is that even if your population looks young and vital on paper, you’re not immune to the risk of impacts from chronic conditions. In 2005, 36% of adults between 18 and 34 had at least one chronic condition, and 14% had more than one.¹ By 2019 those numbers had risen to 54% and 22% respectively.² Younger adults with chronic conditions are also more likely to have unhealthy habits like smoking and lack of physical activity than their counterparts without chronic conditions.² Two of the top three conditions in this age group are obesity and high blood pressure. Both are associated with the development of other serious chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.²

Now here’s the good news – unhealthy habits can be changed. People can modify their lifestyle and impact their health. They can quit smoking, become more active, learn to manage their blood pressure and lose weight, especially with support from holistic wellness programs that support long-term lifestyle behavior change and leverage digital tools to do so.

Our data-driven clinical models integrate diverse data sources, including lifestyle and biometric risk factors, as we assess the health of our population.

Helping people make these changes is more critical than ever because chronic conditions are not just serious from a clinical perspective. They’re also connected to 90% of health care spending in the U.S.³ – which rose from just under $2 trillion in 2005⁴ to $4.5 trillion in 2022.⁵ Today, 22% of employers in the U.S. attribute the increase in health benefit costs to the cost of treating chronic conditions.⁶

Our data-driven clinical models integrate diverse data sources, including lifestyle and biometric risk factors, as we assess the health of our population. Then, we can take what we know about how people are likely to engage to offer support that fits naturally into their lifestyles and habits. Adults in the U.S. between 18 and 29 spend more time online than other age groups. In fact, 48% of them describe themselves as almost constantly online.⁷ This comfort with life online is reflected in ActiveHealth engagement data which shows that members in this age group are open to using digital wellness tools and engaging in group coaching sessions.

Extending the scope of our clinical analytics beyond identification into engagement allows us to deliver personalized, relevant and actionable digital content, right up to recommendations for community-based support. We can optimize daily online usage patterns to include evidence-based health information that can help them articulate a vision for their health and then set goals to achieve it. We can also gently introduce live coaching interactions by recommending live, online group coaching series.

When we engage members in modalities that are a natural fit for their habits and preferences, we have the best chance of creating lasting changes that will positively impact their health.

These series are a hybrid of digital coaching and one-to-one coaching. They offer participants a chance to engage with experienced coaches, in real time, in a group format that’s convenient and may feel less stressful than connecting live, one-to-one with a coach on the phone. Our data shows that adults between 18 and 45 are more likely to engage in group coaching than other age groups.⁸

Holistic, multi-modal programs can make a difference. As an example, our Lifestyle and Condition Coaching program has shown that members are five times more likely to quit smoking with program support than on their own, and 83% of members with hypertension keep their blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg.⁹However, the first step toward achieving these results is connecting effectively with the people we serve. When we engage members in modalities that are a natural fit for their habits and preferences, we have the best chance of creating lasting changes that will positively impact their health.

¹ FOR 2005 CHRONIC CONDITION PREVALENCE SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Health Care Expenses for Adults with Chronic Conditions, 2005. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Issue Brief #203. May 2008. Accessed February 7, 2024.

² FOR CHRONIC CONDITION PREVALENCE SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic Conditions Among Adults Aged 18─34 Years — United States, 2019. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. July 29, 2022. Accessed January 25, 2024.

³ FOR HEALTH CARE SPENDING ON CHRONIC CONDITIONS SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health and Economic Costs of Chronic Diseases. Accessed February 7, 2024.

⁴ FOR 2005 HEALTH CARE SPENDING SOURCE: Muñoz E, Muñoz W 3rd, Wise L. National and surgical health care expenditures, 2005-2025. Annals of Surgery. February 2010. Accessed February 7, 2024.

⁵ FOR 2022 HEALTH CARE SPENDING SOURCE: CMS.gov. National health expenditure data: Historical. Accessed February 7, 2024.

⁶ FOR EMPLOYER ATTRIBUTION OF HEALTH CARE COSTS SOURCE: International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Health Care Costs Pulse Survey: 2024 Cost Trend. Accessed February 7, 2024.

⁷ FOR TIME ONLINE SOURCE: Statista. U.S. internet user demographics – age groups – Statistics & Facts. Accessed January 25, 2024.

⁸ FOR PROGRAM ENGAGEMENT DATA SOURCE: ActiveHealth outcomes data from a large state government employer in calendar year 2022.

⁹FOR PROGRAM RESULTS SOURCE: ActiveHealth outcomes data from a large national employer with engaged members targeted for specific program interventions in calendar year 2022.