Your health insurer wants to know exactly when you get pregnant

See also: Million-dollar babies

Health plans have tried additional ways to learn when their members get pregnant, such as working with obstetricians and gynecologists, says Rebecca Owen, a health actuary at the Society of Actuaries. The apps are new within the past few years, and insurers are interested, even if it's still unclear how effective they are. No one has done a rigorous medical trial to determine whether the apps actually lead to healthier pregnancies or reduced medical costs. "The judgement is still out on it," Owen says. "We just don't know yet how well they work."

Women opt into Ovuline's program by identifying Blue Cross of Massachusetts as their insurance company on one of the apps. The apps collect about 400 data points for each user, says Chief Executive Officer Paris Wallace. Ovuline doesn't share users' data directly with insurers. Instead, the app contains information about the health plan's benefits, as well as customized responses based on the data women record on their phones. If pregnant women report back or shoulder pain, for example, Ovuline might tell them that their health plan covers pre-natal massages. Wallace says the system can also lower the risk of costly problems. If a woman reports rising blood pressure, dark urine, and a headache, the app recognizes the pattern as a sign of preeclampsia, a potentially serious complication. Ovuline doesn't make a diagnosis, but the app prompts users to alert their medical providers about symptoms.

Wallace says Ovuline has sent out 100,000 such alerts. "We're basically able to do massive triage on millions of people at the same time," he says. The apps, called Ovia Fertility and Ovia Pregnancy, launched in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Combined, they've had about 2 million users.

State Medicaid plans are watching Due Date Plus' deployment in Wyoming carefully, says Brett Jakovac, managing director of Xerox's government healthcare business. "We're getting an incredible amount of interest and we're expecting we're going to see a number signing up," he says. Maternity care is a top cost for Medicaid programs. In Wyoming, Due Date Plus connects Medicaid patients with nurses or care managers who may visit them at home. Users who report smoking can be connected to a counselor or enroll in an online smoking-cessation program. According to Wildflower Health CEO Leah Sparks, even generally healthy women may benefit from the app. "There are things that come up in pregnancy that even the most savvy, high-tech, motivated Silicon Valley mom may not be aware of," she says.