CHICAGO, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19
pandemic and resulting economic crisis have heightened the need for
employers and health insurers to prioritize the mental and physical
health of their employees and plan members. As a result, Vitality
Group, a global health and wellness company committed to making
people healthier, has experienced strong growth, adding 200,000 new
members and 106 new clients in the US this year. Vitality Gateway
Flex benefits marketplace was also recently launched as an
innovative way to support this demand.
"We remain steadfast in our mission to help our members improve
their health and wellness while at the same time improving
productivity and healthcare costs for our clients," said Tal
Gilbert, CEO, Vitality USA.
"It's at times like these that organizations realize the value of
investing in the health of their people, especially when so many
are challenged to achieve more with fewer resources."
To support the scale up of Vitality USA as the business deepens its current
offering and extends its platform to broader health behaviors,
health economist Tanya Little, MSc,
has been brought on as Chief Growth Officer. Previously a
consultant for McKinsey & Company, Tanya also held strategic
leadership roles at Investec, an international specialist bank and
asset manager, and international healthcare organization Life
Healthcare.
"There's something very special about working for a company
whose core purpose aligns to your personal values," said Little.
"In joining Vitality, I now have this luxury. Vitality continuously
seeks to grow its impact on behavioral change and health outcomes
with an evidence-based approach and I look forward to leveraging my
strategic execution experience and passion for finding solutions to
human problems on behalf of the organization."
Additionally, Kristen
Montplaisir has been named Head of National Sales and
Distribution to oversee direct sales across employer and health
plan channels.
This year, Vitality also achieved several notable milestones
including:
- Launched Vitality Gateway Flex, a first-of-its-kind
pay-as-you-go benefits marketplace, offering employers
unprecedented flexibility, less complexity and almost zero wastage
of resources.
- Expanded its insurance partnerships with Prudential in
Brazil and Argentina, Maccabi in Israel, Fidelidad in Portugal and Tawuniya in Saudi Arabia.
- Announced a partnership with HealthFitness and a strategic
collaboration with Amazon and John
Hancock to integrate Amazon Halo into the John Hancock
Vitality Program.
- Partnered with Orangetheory Fitness to develop their OTearn
program, designed to keep members motivated to achieve their goals
and earn rewards in the process, and with Crunch to develop the
CrunchTime Active Rewards app.
- Published a study in The Lancet Public Health with
researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at
the University of Washington School of
Medicine, showing modifiable health risks, such as obesity, high
blood pressure, and smoking, were linked to over $730 billion in healthcare spending in the US.
Research was also published in The British Journal of Sports
Medicine finding the economic benefits of increased physical
activity globally. If all adults aged 18-64 walked just 15 minutes
more a day, the world economy could grow by an average of
$100 billion a year until 2050.
"It's hard to think of a more fundamental lesson from this
period than the fact that the health of a company's people defines
the health of their business," said Gilbert. "The benefits of
healthy living have a profound impact, especially when it comes to
COVID-19 risk. Our data shows that a healthy 65-year-old who
exercises for 30 minutes four times per week has a 22% lower risk
of dying from a COVID-19 infection than a 45-year-old who does not
exercise. With ground breaking new programs like Gateway Flex, we
are in a unique position to provide the tools and resources to help
our members achieve behavior change and profoundly impact their
health."
About Vitality Group
Guided by a core purpose of
making people healthier, Vitality is the leader in improving health
to unlock outcomes that matter. By blending industry-leading smart
tech, data, incentives and behavioral science, we inspire healthy
changes in individuals and their organizations. As one of the
largest wellness companies in the world, Vitality brings a dynamic
and diverse perspective through successful partnerships with the
most forward-thinking insurers and employers. More than 20 million
people in 26 markets engage in the Vitality program. For more
information, visit vitalitygroup.com or follow us on
Twitter and LinkedIn.
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SOURCE Vitality Group