Chrissy Farr at CNBC broke news about clandestine discussions between Apple and Aetna over free watches for all (Aetna customers).
The insurer, which covers 23 million, offers an Apple Watch to its 50,000 employees as part of its corporate wellness program. Now, Aetna is negotiating with Apple on a plan to offer a free or discounted Apple Watch, Apple’s wearable device, as a perk to its members.
Mac Rumors has suggested
Aetna also said it would develop several iOS health initiatives with “support” from Apple, offering “deeply integrated” health apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to Aetna customers.
Is Aetna interested in your health? Of course they are. That’s the problem. When the folks calculating the financial risk of your health care decisions offer a tool to record how you exercise, oxygenate, sleep, breath, travel and move you should be concerned.
Or as Andrew Lewis originally suggested, when it’s free you’re no longer the customer but the product.
There’s no such thing as a free watch.