Discovery Vitality reducing activity goals after backlash

Vitality is the stupidest and most counter intuitive idea they ever had. Points?! Really now? This is not a game of Tetris or Pac Man.
 
How did they decide what the 80% heart rate is? My 80% and another persons 80% is not the same. I am on beta-blockers for example so getting my HR above 170 takes some serious effort that I cannot sustain for more than a few minuets..
 
jouda said:
How did they decide what the 80% heart rate is? My 80% and another persons 80% is not the same. I am on beta-blockers for example so getting my HR above 170 takes some serious effort that I cannot sustain for more than a few minuets..
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Its based on a simple formula: 220-(your age) * 0.8

So at age 30 your 80% will be closer to 152
 
I've changed the headline to simply, "Discovery Vitality reducing activity goals", to avoid any ambiguity.

The goal drop was mentioned with the original announcement to members (as a "recalculation", I believe), but Discovery didn't highlight it until after the backlash to avoid complexity in its communication of the changes.
 
GforceD said:
Think about it you pay money to join vitality then they pay you more money (in the form of points or discounts which in reality can be converted to money). Of course they want to make it hard, other wise it would just be a regular Ponzi scheme.
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Don't they swindle about 95% of your investment in a Ponzi scheme?

GforceD said:
Absa rewards or Ebucks is essentially the same thing. They promise you can earn money back but you need to pay-in and at the end of the day the companies all make money off of you so how does it make sense that everyone is getting money back?
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eBucks is R16.50 a month. Not quite the same thing dude...
 
eBucks and ABSA rewards is real money. Points, like on Vitality, is what you get when you play games. It is useless in real life.
 
Rouxenator said:
Vitality is the stupidest and most counter intuitive idea they ever had. Points?! Really now? This is not a game of Tetris or Pac Man.
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I am sorry but this post shows your ignorance. Gamification is a proven psychological motivator. It is used all around the world in countless applications. But hey keyboard warriors carriy more weight than verifiable scientific data I guess.

EDIT: As for being useless, they are directly linked to your Vitality Level. This determines your benefits, including cash back and various other discounts. You mention ebucks? ebucks has the EXACT same system with various levels determining what you get back, also based on points.
 
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It is in their best interest if I am healthy and active - it means I am less of a risk for them because lets be frank here, this is medical insurance. What I expect is that the lower my risk is to them, the lower my premiums will be. But no.

Instead of doing insurance in the accepted industry standard way they have a scheme into which you have to buy (making them money) and then you get artificial currency (points) which you can spend with their partners (making them money). You get the picture? It's not about giving back to lower risk clients, it is in fact about extorting more money from them.
 
Rouxenator said:
It is in their best interest if I am healthy and active - it means I am less of a risk for them because lets be frank here, this is medical insurance. What I expect is that the lower my risk is to them, the lower my premiums will be. But no.

Instead of doing insurance in the accepted industry standard way they have a scheme into which you have to buy (making them money) and then you get artificial currency (points) which you can spend with their partners (making them money). You get the picture? It's not about giving back to lower risk clients, it is in fact about extorting more money from them.
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They are a business? What do you expect them to do? Give you **** for free? They are there to make money. Vitality costs me R260 just on that alone, I get almost R900 off my annual gym fees. I get 25% cash back on PNP purchases, 100% off my Apple Watch. These are all expenses that I would incur if I were on a different medial aid. So while you may not get money off your premiums, you get reduction in so many other monthly costs that more than make up the difference.
 
Santam, Mutual&Federal, Outsurance and all other insurance companies are also businesses. The lower risk you are to them as client, the less you pay. Why should medical insurance be any different?

I don't gym, I do real fitness. I cycle to and from work everyday. Why must I only shop at PnP? I don't like Apple I use Motorola. I don't go to the movies nor fly anywhere. Vitality is useless.

What would have helped is of they lower my premiums, or have some sort of no claim bonus. Real money that I can use on real things that I like - not stuff they make money on through their partners.
 
Rouxenator said:
Santam, Mutual&Federal, Outsurance and all other insurance companies are also businesses. The lower risk you are to them as client, the less you pay. Why should medical insurance be any different?

I don't gym, I do real fitness. I cycle to and from work everyday. Why must I only shop at PnP? I don't like Apple I use Motorola. I don't go to the movies nor fly anywhere. Vitality is useless.

What would have helped is of they lower my premiums, or have some sort of no claim bonus. Real money that I can use on real things that I like - not stuff they make money on through their partners.
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You are answering your own question. Choice. You dont want to make use of any of the benefits, then dont? You dont like the way discovery handles their premiums, go with ones that you do like. You cannot sit there and dictate that one company must behave like all the others. Then what is the point of multiple offerings?
 
Don't you see, there are no benefits. To you it appears to be benefits but only if you buy into it. A real benefit is something that everyone gains from without buying into it. Like lower premiums for low risk clients.

My beef with Discovery is that they are not doing insurance the right way. Why must I have a medical savings account or gap cover? If they stopped p.ss.ing around with nonsense like Vitality and instead focus on doing proper medical insurance I think they would have plenty more happy clients.
 
Rouxenator said:
Don't you see, there are no benefits. To you it appears to be benefits but only if you buy into it. A real benefit is something that everyone gains from without buying into it. Like lower premiums for low risk clients.

My beef with Discovery is that they are not doing insurance the right way. Why must I have a medical savings account or gap cover? If they stopped p.ss.ing around with nonsense like Vitality and instead focus on doing proper medical insurance I think they would have plenty more happy clients.
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Legislation prohibits different premiums based on client profile for medical aid. Thus all the vitality bs.
 
P924 said:
Legislation prohibits different premiums based on client profile for medical aid. Thus all the vitality bs.
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JFC, so everyone must pay the same despite me being healthy and never claiming and the next guy who is so fat and unhealthy he can't even wipe his own rear passage?

Be that as it may, I still feel they can do a better job with rewarding low risk clients. Firstly it should not be an additional opt-in scheme like vitality and secondly it should use real currency, not points.
 
Rouxenator said:
Don't you see, there are no benefits. To you it appears to be benefits but only if you buy into it. A real benefit is something that everyone gains from without buying into it. Like lower premiums for low risk clients.
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I don't see your point. I pay R260 for Vitality. I get over R1500 cash back a month.

Again you mention ebucks, you still have to pay for that.

Why must I have a medical savings account or gap cover?
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You dont have to. In fact, you dont have to have medical insurance at all. Its all benefits, and you pay for it all.
 
Rouxenator said:
JFC, so everyone must pay the same despite me being healthy and never claiming and the next guy who is so fat and unhealthy he can't even wipe his own rear passage?

Be that as it may, I still feel they can do a better job with rewarding low risk clients. Firstly it should not be an additional opt-in scheme like vitality and secondly it should use real currency, not points.
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It is impossible under current legislation. They cannot fund this incentive scheme from medical aid contributions, or perhaps a tiny portion, but not much.

If it was any different, medical aid would be unaffordable to older people, which you will be some day.

Anyway, I think you have steered this thread way too far off topic.
 
Correct. Allow me to be succinct then. The benefits of Vitality should apply to all members of Discovery at no extra cost.
 
BSoD said:
You dont have to. In fact, you dont have to have medical insurance at all. Its all benefits, and you pay for it all.
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But they do try to steer people into medical savings by making it mandatory on the plans with higher cover.
 
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