A major US health insurance company on Monday said it will help buy Apple Inc’s smartwatches for customers as part of a move to integrate the gadgets into wellness management programs.
Aetna Inc said that, in the coming open enrollment period, it will make Apple Watch buys an option for large employers and individual customers, becoming the first major healthcare company to subsidize “a significant portion” of the cost of an Apple Watch.
Aetna would let people pay off the balances of Apple Watch buys using monthly payroll deduction plans if they wish.
Aetna describes itself as one of the US’ leading diversified healthcare benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.3 million people.
Along with the customer program, Aetna said that it planned to give each of its nearly 50,000 employees an Apple Watch if they take part in a company wellness program incorporating the Internet-connected wrist wear.
“We are incredibly excited to use iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to create simple, intuitive and personalized technology solutions that will transform the health and wellness experience for our members,” Aetna chief executive Mark Bertolini said in a statement.
“This is only the beginning — we look forward to using these tools to improve health outcomes and help more people achieve more healthy days,” he said.
Apple Watch devices synch wirelessly to iPhones.
Aetna said that, with support from Apple, it is planning health initiatives exclusively tied to the California-based company’s iOS mobile operating system.
Initiatives will include health apps tailored for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, according to the insurance company.
Features in Aetna health apps, set for release next year, were to include help understanding illnesses or remembering to take medicines.
Apple Wallet digital billfold would be incorporated into Aetna apps, to let people pay medical bills or prescription costs.
Apple has built features into Apple Watch, and the operating software for its mobile devices, to make them potentially powerful and personalized tools for individual health, as well as broader medical research.
Global smartwatch shipments have soared eight-fold — from 5 million units in 2014 to 40.3 million last year, according to estimates by Gartner consultancy.
However, the pace of growth has since slowed, with 60.4 million watches to be shipped this year and 66.3 million next year.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last