Assessing the Impact of myHealth Rewards Enrollment Emails

Geisinger Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Health Promotion; Wellness Programs

Treatments: Behavioral: Email reminder; Behavioral: Loss framing; Behavioral: Social norms

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03965754

2019-0404

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to evaluate, prospectively, the potential impact of different email message conditions (no email, standard promotional email, social norms, and loss framing) on enrollment in a wellness program (myHealth Rewards) by Geisinger Health Plan (GHP) members.

Full description

The myHealth Rewards wellness program managed by GHP rewards those GHP members who carry their insurance through employment at Geisinger with reduced health insurance premiums over the course of the following year, if members register for the program and have their health measures on file by the enrollment deadline and are then able to meet their health goals by the respective due date. In spite of the potential savings to health plan members and the wellness program's potential to motivate engagement in healthy activities (with consequent improvement in health outcomes), over 20% of eligible GHP members have not yet enrolled in 2019, even after receiving promotional email communications and reminders. Therefore, the current study was developed to test whether different versions of emails are more effective than a standard reminder email or no-email condition in increasing myHealth Rewards login and enrollment rates. The standard email reminder mentions the average premium savings, the ease of the registration process, and the deadline for registering and having health measures on file, plus it provides links for registering and finding free health screenings where health measures can be collected and registered at one convenient time and location. The social norms email notes that a majority (78%) of GHP members' colleagues had enrolled in 2018, it provides a testimonial from a medical director at Geisinger's Commonwealth School of Medicine, stating the ways in which myHealth Rewards helped that doctor personally, and it emphasizes the simplicity and ease of taking the first step toward enrollment. The loss framing email suggests that GHP members are currently "throwing away" a precise monetary amount in savings by not participating and that they can therefore avoid missing out on substantial gains (i.e., savings) by taking action. It is hypothesized that, on average, each of the emails will increase enrollment compared with no email. Among GHP members who never enrolled in the past, it is hypothesized that the standard email reminder will not be as effective as the social norms and loss framing emails. Therefore, email conditions will be compared separately among those who did and did not register in 2018. Findings will help inform how best to increase enrollment in a wellness program among health plan members who have already received past promotional communications and who may or may not have participated in the past.

Enrollment: 5,697 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Geisinger employees who are benefits subscribers

Exclusion criteria

• Those who had already registered for myHealth Rewards in 2019, up through May 6, 2019
• New Geisinger employees hired between December 1, 2018 and May 6, 2019
• Existing Geisinger employees who transitioned from non-subscribers in 2018 to subscribers in 2019

Trial design

5,697 participants in 4 patient groups

No email

Description:

No email will be sent out to this subset of GHP members during the week that the other emails are sent.

Standard email reminder

Description:

The standard email reminder mentions the average premium savings, the speed and ease of starting the process, and the deadline for registering and having health measures on file, plus it provides two button links for registering and finding free health screenings where health measures can be collected and registered at one convenient time and location.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Email reminder

Social norms email

Description:

The social norms email notes that a majority (78%) of GHP members' colleagues had enrolled in 2018, it provides a testimonial from a medical director at Geisinger's Commonwealth School of Medicine, stating the ways in which myHealth Rewards helped that doctor personally, and it emphasizes the simplicity and ease of taking the first step toward enrollment.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Social norms

Behavioral: Email reminder

Loss framing

Description:

The loss framing email suggests that GHP members are currently "throwing away" a precise dollar amount (over $2,000) by not participating and that they can therefore avoid missing out on substantial gains (i.e., savings) by taking action.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Loss framing

Behavioral: Email reminder