Whoop Moves From Athletes to Medicare Seniors Through Outcome-Based ACCESS Pilot

According to STAT, Whoop is one of the first consumer wearable companies accepted into Medicare's ACCESS program. The pilot runs for 10 years. It makes the device available at no cost to many traditional Medicare patients ages 65 and up. Whoop is among 55 companies in the program's initial directory, which was published last month.

The payment model is the key change. Through ACCESS, patients get chronic condition management for little or no cost. Medicare pays the companies based on health outcomes. Whoop serves patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and prediabetes. It will provide a wearable, a 12-month app subscription and access to clinicians who can help patients interpret their data.

To receive full payment, Whoop must show it improved or controlled measures tied to these conditions. These include blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C and LDL cholesterol. Chief medical officer Ami Bhatt, speaking at the STAT Summit in Boston, described the logic this way: "The goal is, how do we bring technology closer to the patient, but not put the cost on the patient — rather, put the demand on the company."

For the market, this shifts risk. A consumer subscription business earns revenue from engagement and retention. Under ACCESS, full payment depends on clinical results. Bhatt acknowledged the gap. Users open the Whoop app about eight times a day, she said. But research on continuous glucose monitors suggests that engagement does not necessarily lead to better health outcomes. Bhatt said Whoop has shown a blood pressure drop of about five millimeters of mercury among its users. STAT's report does not give details of that finding, and it was not described as coming from the ACCESS population.

The product also has to change. Bhatt said simplifying the app is the top item on the roadmap. She cited surveys suggesting that even people older than 80 trust their clinicians with their data. In her words, the issue is how easy it is for them to share it. Whoop is working with the National Council on Aging and AARP on personalizing the product for older adults.

Competitive positioning matters here too. Whoop recently raised $575 million from investors including Mayo Clinic and the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar. Few consumer wearable brands have a Medicare outcomes contract. That could give Whoop a head start in showing payers that its data leads to results. STAT's report does not say how other wearable makers are positioned.

The regulatory line is the main risk. Whoop long sold a product it deliberately kept in the wellness category. The FDA issued a warning letter saying the company's blood pressure-estimating feature qualified as a medical device, not a wellness feature. The agency later closed the letter after Whoop changed the feature, according to STAT. Whoop also announced this year that users can discuss their wearable data with clinicians.

That history shows the tension. Moving toward clinical use brings payment and credibility. It also brings closer scrutiny of what a feature claims to do. A company that measures blood pressure outcomes in a Medicare program will likely face questions about where its wellness features end and its medical claims begin. The source does not say how the FDA would treat future features.

Bhatt also pointed to a practical problem. As a physician, she had patients who brought printed binders of wearable data. A 20-minute visit could not absorb them. She suggested Whoop could send clinicians a contextualized report. It would combine continuous data with a patient's journal entries and conversations with the app's coach.

What to watch next

Whether Whoop can show improvements in blood pressure, A1C and LDL cholesterol among Medicare patients, and whether regulators treat its clinician-facing tools as wellness features or medical devices.

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