Many ACA health plans offer wellness incentives

ACA individual-market insurers get into the rewards business

Most Americans are familiar with the idea of workplace wellness programs that offer rewards for various activities and behaviors – such as getting an annual checkup or taking a certain number of steps each day. These workplace wellness programs have existed for decades in conjunction with employer-sponsored health insurance. But what about people who buy their own health insurance?

Health insurance companies are increasingly offering incentive programs for individual/family enrollees, but you might not know about them unless you ask. These rewards programs are fairly new in the ACA-compliant individual market, with most debuting within the last five years.

Once you’re enrolled in an ACA health plan, your carrier will send you information about any rewards they offer. But knowing about the various programs before you enroll is another useful metric when you’re selecting your coverage. You can ask your agent or broker about wellness incentives being offered by insurers that offer individual/family plans in your area. You can also reach out to the insurers directly, by phone or via their websites, to see whether they offer any wellness programs.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the incentive programs that some of the major health insurers are offering on their individual/family health plans for 2022.

Multiple health carriers offering plans with wellness incentives

Several insurers that offer widespread coverage in multiple states' health insurance marketplaces are offering wellness rewards as of 2025 (note that although these insurers offer plans in many states, they are not available in all states and some states may have unique rules for wellness incentives):

• Ambetter/Centene: With Ambetter’s My Health Pays program, plan enrollees earn points for certain actions, including an annual wellness exam and preventive screenings, disease management, online surveys, and various healthy activities. Members who complete all of the available activities can earn enough points to receive $500 in rewards – and those rewards can be redeemed to cover out-of-pocket health care costs, utilities and other monthly bills, and various other everyday financial needs.¹
• Cigna: With Cigna’s Take Control Rewards program, plan buyers can earn up to $325 that can be used to cover healthcare costs or purchase a variety of merchandise, including tech gadgets and sporting equipment. After enrollment in the rewards program, members complete a brief health assessment and then start earning rewards for actions such as getting an annual physical and flu shot, and participating in online wellness activities.²
• Molina: With Molina’s Healthy Rewards program, members can earn a $100 gift card if they see their primary care provider for an annual wellness exam and complete a Health Risk Assessment on the My Molina portal.³
• Oscar: With Oscar’s rewards program, members enrolled in certain plans can earn rewards by completing activities such an annual wellness exam, a pulmonary function exam, or meeting a step goal (access to wellness rewards varies by plan).⁴
• UnitedHealthcare: With UnitedHealthcare's Health Perks rewards program, enrollees can earn a $150 prepaid Visa card by visiting their primary care provider, setting up an online account at myuhc.com, signing up for paperless communications and text messages, and setting up automatic premium payments.⁵

Other companies offer members discounts on a variety of wellness-related services, such as meal plans, yoga classes, gym memberships, and weight management programs. Examples include the OTC allowance offered to Aetna/CVS members,⁶ Moda Health's gym membership discounts,⁷ and Kaiser Permanente's fitness discounts.⁸

Smaller, regional insurers also offer incentive programs

The list above only includes the large insurers that offer plans in numerous states. Your marketplace may include smaller, regional insurers that offer their own rewards programs.

For example, Independence Blue Cross – which offers plans in Pennsylvania – offers up to $300 in rewards for completing certain activities such as getting a wellness check-up, registering for Teladoc, utilizing digital communications, getting a flu shot or dental cleanings, etc.⁹ And Florida Blue, which offers plans in Florida, has a rewards program that allows members to earn points for various activities; the points can be used to reduce future premiums or obtain a prepaid card that can be used for various medical expenses.¹⁰

Although several big-name insurers participate in the Marketplaces in numerous states, most of the insurers that offer Marketplace plans tend to be regional and localized. In just the 31 states that use HealthCare.gov as their marketplace, there are a total of 206 insurers offering plans for 2025.¹¹

So if wellness rewards are important to you, ask your insurance broker if any of the available plans include those types of perks, or reach out to the insurers directly and see what’s available.

How much should wellness incentives factor into your choice of coverage?

Wellness rewards from your health insurance company are a nice perk. But they shouldn’t overshadow the major factors that you’ll want to keep in mind when comparing plans. Factors such as your expected out-of-pocket costs, whether you’ll need to switch doctors, and whether/how your prescription drugs will be covered are likely to be more important in terms of the overall benefits you’ll get from the plan.

And if you want to be able to contribute to a health savings account, you’ll need to select from among the HSA-qualified high-deductible health plans in your area, which might limit your insurer options somewhat.

But once you’ve narrowed down your plan options based on the overall benefit design and network, factors such as quality (star) ratings and wellness rewards can help you make a final selection.

And keep in mind that the benefits of the wellness rewards go beyond just the financial benefit. If a cash reward from your insurer is the motivation that gets you to the pharmacy for a flu shot, it might end up being the thing that ultimately keeps you from ending up in the hospital with a bad case of the flu (note that to get a wellness reward for getting a flu shot, you'll need to make sure that you give the pharmacy your health insurance information, even if free flu shots are available at the pharmacy without insurance coverage information).

And if you know that you’ll be more motivated to get your wellness check or meet your step goal if there’s a gift card waiting for you, a plan that offers those perks might help you stay healthier throughout the year.

Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org.