UnitedHealthcare (UNH) and Qualcomm (QCOM), through its wholly owned subsidiary Qualcomm Life, announced enhancements and the expansion of UnitedHealthcare Motion, a wellness program that provides employees with activity trackers at no additional charge and enables them to earn up to $1,500 per year by meeting certain goals for the number of daily steps.

The two companies introduced UnitedHealthcare Motion in 2016 as a pilot in 12 states to select employers, using Qualcomm Life's 2net Platform for medical-grade connectivity that features multiple safeguards to help keep data secure. Following the successful test, the program was expanded to 40 states and will now include access to additional customized activity trackers through a 'bring-your-own-device' model.

The program is now available to self-funded employers with five or more eligible employees, and companies with fully insured health plans with 101 or more eligible employees. All UnitedHealthcare Motion devices enable employees to earn up to $4 per day in deductible credits based on F.I.T. goals, which stands for frequency of walking goals, intensity and tenacity. Employers can obtain premium savings based on program participants' combined F.I.T. results.

People who consistently achieve the F.I.T. goals tend to improve their health and reduce their medical expenses. The Fitbit Charge 2 (FIT) will be the newest activity tracker integrated and validated with 2net and UnitedHealthcare Motion in this BYOD model. The custom feature can be activated during early 2017 on any Charge 2 device in market by any eligible program participant.