BCBSND wellness benefits expanded to keep members active at home

Social distancing measures have been implemented across the country in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. In response, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) is expanding wellness benefits to a wider audience and adjusting the delivery of those benefits for home use.

“While social distancing helps people avoid exposure to COVID-19, now more than ever, we recognize the need for proactive lifestyle medicine to maintain health and well-being. To that end, we’ve restructured three of our most popular wellness benefits to increase accessibility while members remain at home, said Dan Conrad, President and CEO of BCBSND.

Wellbeats

Wellbeats includes hundreds of high-quality, engaging fitness classes, workout plans and fitness challenges for all levels and ages, from children to seniors. Classes are streamed on-demand from a mobile device or tablet.

Original vs. adapted offering

Previously an add-on service available to members whose employers had purchased it, Wellbeats is temporarily available to all members. 

Timeframe

Members will have free access to Wellbeats throughout the month of April.

Silver Sneakers

Description

To avoid inactivity and isolation for now-homebound seniors, the Silver Sneakers program is taking fitness outside the gym, directly to individuals. Activities offered include livestream classes, guided walks, broadcasts of live events, live instructor-led events in open places, and more.

Original vs. adapted offering

Originally intended to get seniors out of their homes and into the gym and connecting with one another, Silver Sneakers is making programming available at home.

Health Club Credit (HCC) Program:

Description

With health clubs now officially closed, members with Health Club Credit (HCC) are unable to earn credit in the usual means, through visits. Temporarily, those members will be invited to participate by tracking their physical activity in the HealthyBlue online wellness program.

Original vs. adapted offering

Originally, HCC rewarded people for working out at participating gyms 12 or more days per month. Under the HealthyBlue program, members have access to the HealthyBlue wellness portal which delivers health information, tools, challenges and more.

For those participants, the rewards program has been restructured to allow incentives for physical activity tracking online to be comparable to the  traditional HCC program.

Timeframe

Alternative health club credits can be earned through April, at which time we’ll look at the number of health clubs reopened and reconsider the offering.

More information is available and future updates will be posted online at BCBSND.com/coronavirus.