Thrive Global and Function Join Forces to Launch the First Personalized and Proactive Health Testing Benefit for Employees

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Oct 30, 2024, 09:00 ET

By combining access to over 100 lab tests that track essential yet often overlooked health biomarkers with personalized expert coaching around sleep, food, movement, stress management and connection, this partnership aims to empower employees to take control of their health and improve the daily behaviors that drive productivity and health outcomes

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thrive Global, the leading behavior health technology company founded by Arianna Huffington, and Function, a revolutionary health management platform that is empowering people to live 100 healthy years, today announced a partnership to provide employees with a first-of-its-kind precision health coaching program. This program offers a comprehensive health solution aimed at improving health outcomes, which will also be a productivity multiplier, through advanced lab testing and precision health coaching. The Thrive and Function precision health coaching program provides participants immediate access to Function — bypassing a 300,000-person waitlist to access 100+lab tests — and pairs them with a Thrive Health Coach for a coaching program that delivers personalized, actionable guidance on sleep, nutrition, movement, stress management, and connection to leverage the power of daily behaviors to improve their health outcomes.

Function provides access to more than 100 advanced lab tests, through its lab partner Quest Diagnostics, that give a holistic view into your health – from heart and hormones to thyroid, nutrients, toxins, autoimmunity, and beyond. Unlike traditional testing, which is often costly, inaccessible, and done reactively, Function takes a proactive approach to prevent disease before it becomes a more serious issue. With detailed and actionable insights from the world's top doctors, Function is empowering employees to tailor their health strategies to their individual data for more effective disease prevention and well-being management.

"At Function, we know that being proactive with your health is essential both personally and professionally," said Function Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Mark Hyman, M.D. "This partnership introduces a health benefit that has never been accessible before. While annual physicals typically provide around 19 lab tests, Function offers access to more than five times that number, ensuring you don't miss critical aspects of your health. Pairing these insights with Thrive's personalized coaching can have a profound impact on employees. Research shows that well-being is closely linked to productivity, and this program will empower individuals, driving success both in and out of the workplace."

"Until now, sedentary lifestyles, challenging food systems and reactive healthcare have made it near impossible for employees to actually take control of their health," said Function Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Pranitha Patil. "By joining forces with Thrive we have created a first-of-its-kind program for employers to finally be able to empower their employees to own their health. Everyone deserves this."

Chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disorders, mental health issues and cognitive decline account for 90 percent of the $4.1 trillion in annual healthcare spending. Employers are facing the steepest rise in healthcare costs (7%) since 2011, according to an annual survey from healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The Function and Thrive precision health coaching program is designed to help employers improve employee health outcomes and manage healthcare costs as it supports employees with evidence-based behaviors that both prevent and optimize the management of chronic diseases.
"We are facing a growing crisis of chronic diseases and rising healthcare costs for self-insured employers, making it crucial to intervene both before disease manifests and to optimize the treatment and management of disease," said Thrive Global Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Arianna Huffington. "Thrive's approach has always been to bring the latest in behavior change science and technology to improve health outcomes by focusing on the five key behaviors foundational to health—sleep, food, movement, stress management, and connection—and by integrating Function's health management platform into Thrive's expert personalized coaching, employees will not only be empowered to improve their biomarkers, but achieve optimal health."

Thrive Global's partnership with Function marks a significant expansion of its mission to improve health outcomes through science-backed behavior change. This collaboration strengthens Thrive's employer offerings with a growing emphasis on adding health services that complement Thrive's behavior change technology platform and empower employees to improve health outcomes through adopting Thrive's Microsteps, small, science-backed actions to support habit formation, around sleep, food, movement, stress management and connection. By targeting these five key daily behaviors, which are validated both to prevent and optimize the management of chronic diseases, Thrive supports employees with holistic health care offerings that improve health outcomes and productivity.

Participating employees will enroll in a coaching program with Thrive's health coaches, led by Thrive Global Cognitive Nutrition Director Tess Bredesen. A nationally certified health and wellness coach and expert in using nutrition to prevent cognitive decline, Bredesen and Thrive's health coaches will use these insights to guide employees through personalized programs that leverage the five daily behaviors to improve their biomarkers. Additionally, participants can choose to share their data with the Thrive AI Health Coach, launched with the OpenAI Startup Fund, for hyper-personalized behavior change recommendations. By opting in, employees will receive real-time guidance tailored to their unique health patterns, supported by thousands of Thrive's science-backed Microsteps to build lasting healthy habits.

"We know that access to data alone is not enough to improve health," says Thrive Global Director of Cognitive Nutrition, Tess Bredesen. "By combining Function with Thrive's personalized science-backed coaching plans, which include thousands of Microsteps to improve the five key behaviors and hundreds of Resets to manage stress, participants can turn knowledge into meaningful action, driving lasting health outcomes and overall well-being."

By combining advanced diagnostics, personalized coaching, and AI-powered health tools, this partnership offers a robust, first-of-its-kind solution for employees to proactively manage their health and provides employers with a powerful way to improve employee well-being, reduce healthcare costs, and foster a healthier, more productive workforce.

For more information, visit https://www.functionhealth.com/a/thrive-global.

ABOUT FUNCTION HEALTH
Function is the first health platform to include 100+ lab tests, helping individuals understand their whole body—from heart and hormones to thyroid, nutrients, toxins, autoimmunity, immunity, and beyond. Unlike traditional testing, which is often costly, inaccessible, and done reactively, Function offers these 100+ lab tests along with detailed and actionable insights from the world's top doctors at just $499 per year, with no hidden costs, surprise bills, or insurance involved. This is five times more lab testing than a typical physical, which averages 19 labs tests and may miss critical aspects of your health. All results and insights are continuously tracked and securely stored in Function's platform, allowing individuals to uncover trends and watch health transformations over time. Since launching in beta in mid-2023, Function has amassed over 75,000 members, and 300,000+ people have joined the waitlist. For more information, visit www.functionhealth.com.

ABOUT THRIVE GLOBAL
Founded by Arianna Huffington in 2016, Thrive Global is a leading behavior change technology company with the mission to improve productivity and health outcomes – one Microstep at a time. Thrive helps individuals and organizations improve well-being, performance and mental resilience with its AI-powered behavior change technology platform. Thrive's Microsteps – small, science-backed steps to improve health and productivity – have been adopted by employees at more than 200 organizations in over 160 countries, from frontline and call center workers to executives at multinational companies. For more information, visit www.thriveglobal.com.

SOURCE Function Health