Beginning this year, employees of biotech firm Amgen, medical group DaVita HealthCare Partners and insurance brokerage firm Lockton Cos., can buy an Apple Watch for just $25 — given they meet monthly fitness goals, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The deal may seem pretty sweet, but employees that fail to meet their monthly fitness goals must pay $13.50 every month for two years to pay off the full price of the Apple Watch.
The deal, which is being offered through health-services firm Vitality Group, attempts to get employees active and healthy to reduce healthcare costs, according to the WSJ report. It is one of many wellness and incentive programs that have popped up at companies since the passage of the ACA.
Recent research from Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on Health cited by WSJ found companies spend an average $693 per employee on wellness incentives in 2015, up from $594 in 2014. The study also showed most employers' incentive programs aim to boost worker participation in screenings and other health-risk assessments.
Roughly 10,000 U.S. Amgen employees will be eligible to participate in the Apple Watch program when it rolls out this summer.
"We saw this as an opportunity to really engage our staff," Amgen Executive Director of Benefits Carole Mendoza told WSJ. "There is a lot of buzz around the Apple Watch."
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