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Anthem National Accounts Strives to Improve Employers' 'Health Cultures' in the Workplace Through New Healthy Lifestyles Program

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 12:16 CDT

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to improve employee satisfaction and simultaneously combat increasing health care costs and decreased productivity, many employers across the country are working to create "health cultures" - environments that promote and encourage lifestyle choices that improve the health and wellness of their employees.

Anthem National Accounts is supporting and enhancing employer health cultures through Healthy Lifestyles - a program designed to help employees make healthy behavior changes in five key areas: tobacco cessation, weight control, nutrition and diet, exercise, and controlling stress.

Incentives and rewards can be offered as part of Healthy Lifestyles to motivate employees to engage in the program and encourage them to stay on track. In addition, through Healthy Lifestyles, Anthem National Accounts will work with employers to change menus in cafeterias and offer healthier products in vending machines.

"Breaking old habits and developing new, healthier behaviors isn't easy, but it has tremendous benefits for employers and employees alike," said Ken Goulet, president, Anthem National Accounts. "We chose the categories of smoking cessation, weight and stress management, physical activity and nutrition because helping people make small changes in any of these areas can have a big impact on an individual's health and, in turn, the health of an entire workforce."

Successful Healthy Lifestyles Pilots by Major Employers

Healthy Lifestyles was designed with input from Anthem National Accounts' customers and medical professionals. Although Healthy Lifestyles was only recently introduced to all Anthem National Accounts' customers, seven employers participated in an earlier version of the product, including Eli Lilly and Company, LandAmerica Financial Group, and WellPoint, Inc.

Eli Lilly, headquartered in Indianapolis, was one of the first employers to begin offering Anthem National Accounts' Healthy Lifestyles to its employers.

"The feedback we've received on the product so far has been positive. Employees appreciate the incentives that are built into the program. In addition, it is confidential, with a motivational component that keeps employees privately focused on improving their health," said Greg Larkin, M.D. director of corporate health services for Eli Lilly.

LandAmerica integrated Healthy Lifestyles into its health care strategy beginning in 2007 in an effort to address the underlying causes of increasing health care costs.

"Our utilization data clearly showed an opportunity to control costs associated with conditions like coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes through individual lifestyle changes," said Sarah Jones, LandAmerica's benefits manager.

According to Jones, the program has been well received, with employees reporting individual success stories about new exercise routines, quitting smoking and losing weight. More than 40 percent of the company's eligible population of approximately 10,000 employees has enrolled in the program. Sixty-two percent of those enrolled have completed health assessments.

"The exciting thing is that our participation data clearly shows that we are connecting with those employees and dependents with multiple risk factors - not just those who are already healthy," said Jones. "We believe there is an excellent potential for this program to help our employees make lifestyle changes that will help reduce their risk factors and ultimately reduce our health care costs."

At WellPoint, the country's largest health benefits company and Anthem National Accounts' parent company, Healthy Lifestyles was incorporated into its overall benefits strategy for its 41,000 employees across the country. Year-to-date, the percentage of associates who have completed the health assessment has exceeded WellPoint's original participation goals. According to WellPoint's Wellness Director Beena Thomas, this number is expected to rise.

"Our long-term plan is to help our associates understand their health habits and improve their overall health and wellness. We are finding that through the Healthy Lifestyles tools and the wellness strategy, our employees are becoming more engaged and are taking appropriate steps to improve their health," said Thomas.

Developing Personal, Individualized Strategies to Improve Health

Healthy Lifestyles offers programs for children, teens and adults, including online tools designed to motivate the entire family, including children and teens ages 6 to 17. The Healthy Lifestyles tools include:

- Health assessments that measure an employee's health risks and provides important guidance on what steps they need to take to address those risks; - Web-based counseling to help employees quit smoking or lose weight; - Telephone counseling by health coaches for high-risk employees; and, - Free access for employees to a national network of fitness centers and discounts to services such as personal trainers and spas.

One Healthy Lifestyles program called Family Fit includes online tools that encourage family members - through family-oriented activities such as wellness games, quizzes and prizes - to engage in age-appropriate physical activity, nutrition and character-building exercises.

"People want more than 'how-to' advice, and Healthy Lifestyles helps them understand how the choices they make can affect their health. They learn how they can make healthier choices and most importantly, develop their own personal strategy to help improve their health," said Samuel Cramer, M.D. vice president of clinical programs, Health Management Corporation (HMC). HMC is one of the nation's leading total population health solution companies and a wholly owned subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc.

"Small changes like adding healthier snack choices can make a huge difference. For instance, cutting out just 100 calories a day - a single can of soda or a couple handfuls of chips, translates to a 10 pounds weight loss in one year. And adding a brisk 30-minute walk five days a week will yield a 20 pounds weight loss at the end of the same year," said Cramer.

Healthy Lifestyles is a component of 360 degree Health, a comprehensive suite of preventive care programs, wellness information, case management and care coordination services offered through HMC.

"Our goal is to support our National Accounts' customers in reaching their wellness goals," said Goulet. "Through the individualized support these tools provide, people can really get engaged in our program. And that's the whole idea."

About Anthem National Accounts

The Anthem National Accounts business unit serves members of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the 11 states of Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.) and Wisconsin, in addition to members of Blue Cross of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in portions of the state of New York. All are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. (R) Registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered service mark. Additional information about Anthem is available at http://www.anthem.com/.

About HMC

Founded in 1983, HMC is a pioneer and leader in providing total health solutions for employers, insurance companies and government entities. Its comprehensive programs and services give people the tools they need to take control of their health and see positive results, whether they've just started careers, are planning families or are nearing retirement. HMC takes a population-based approach to health care that encompasses prevention, lifestyle and condition management and complex care. HMC's Web address is http://www.choosehmc.com/

Anthem National Accounts

CONTACT: Investor Relations, Michael Kleinman, +1-317-488-6713, orMedia, Cindy Sanders, +1-404-842-8406, both of Anthem National Accounts

Web site: http://www.anthem.com/http://www.choosehmc.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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