Aetna, one of the leading insurers in the United States covering 23 million people, has reportedly been holding secret discussions with Apple to bring the company’s health and fitness tracking-focused Apple Watch smartwatch to its customers. Aetna already offers the Apple Watch to its 50,000 employees as part of its corporate wellness program.
Citing three people familiar with the matter, CNBC reports that Aetna is now negotiating with Apple on a plan that will offer a free or discounted Apple Watch as an incentive to those who are insured by it.
The meetings between Aetna and Apple are said to have been invitation-only. They reportedly took place in Southern California last week. Those in attendance included executives from both companies aside from hospital chief medical information officers.
The discussions are said to be led by Apple’s Myoung Cha who has the “special projects, health” job designation at the company. Aetna is reportedly pushing for this deal as it wants to increase customer interest in healthier lifestyles and better diet tracking.
Apple Watch is already one of the best-selling smartwatches on the market. If this deal does happen, it’s going to bring about a major surge in Apple Watch sales as Aetna will actively begin offering the wearable device as an incentive to its over 23 million customers across the country.
Apple and Aetna have not officially commented on this report as yet.
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