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Wisconsin Employer Cooperative Awards High Marks to Wellness-Based Health Insurance Plan

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 09:02 CDT

GREEN BAY, Wis., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- It stopped raining at 9 p.m., but the very last thing Dan Madigan wanted to do was to go for his regular walk. Still, he pushed himself out of the house, achieved his personal daily quota of 15,000 steps and enjoyed what turned out to be a beautiful evening.

"It was a defining moment," Madigan said. "I did what I never would have done had I not been enrolled in a wellness program that provided incentives."

Madigan is CEO of Feeco International, one of the small businesses belonging to the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative of Brown County, a two-year-old health insurance organization created to confront radically rising health insurance costs.

Phil Hauck, a regional head of TEC/The Executive committee, serves as the Co-op's unpaid President and said the problem had reached crisis proportions.

"Over a three-year period, my premiums went up 27%, 28% and 29% respectively, and I never once filed claims that exceeded my deductible," he said.

For 135 of the Co-op's member companies -- a number set to increase to as many as 235 in January -- the solution is proving to be Destiny Health, a Chicago-based provider of wellness-based health insurance. A recent survey of the member companies showed that 82% will recommend membership to other businesses and non-profit organizations, and that 89% are satisfied with employee participation with the plan.

The key factor in The Destiny Health Empowerment Plan(TM) is its Vitality program, which rewards members for taking part in healthy activities, beginning with a Health Risk Assessment, and including events such as daily exercise and 5K runs, and improvements in a member's health status as measured by lowered blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and other factors. For their part, employers receive increasing premium discounts as their employees reach higher levels of total participation and accomplishment with an emphasis on four major categories: prevention, fitness, lifestyle and education.

"In only eight months, 47% of our more than 1,300 individuals and families have achieved Silver status, the second of four Vitality performance levels," Hauck said. "That puts us five percentage points above what Destiny Health requires to guarantee a renewal rate not to exceed 9.25%. And if we can push the percentage above Silver status to 70% of the membership, the maximum renewal rate will fall to only 6%."

Hauck said he believes his Co-op can serve as a model the rest of the nation would do well to emulate.

"Most of the Presidential candidates today are talking about addressing the health care cost issue, while saying nothing about reducing America's utilization of the health care system," he said. "That is a black hole that takes our nation nowhere. The answer is insurance that involves Americans by offering a Health Savings Account and incentives for doing the right thing. "Our Co-op is proving that if you tackle the fitness issue, the sickness issue takes care of itself."

Hauck said that the secret to the Co-op's success is active and high-level participation in the plan.

"Most of our member companies have a designated 'Vitality Champ' who pushes involvement and stages events that help their fellow members earn the 'Vitality Bucks(TM)' required to purchase rewards," he said. "We also have a CEO Champion who works with his peers to maximize their participation."

Dan Madigan -- the CEO champion -- and his wife, Laura, are his company's and the Co-op's first Platinum members. Among other things, this top-rank status earns them a 50% discount on purchasing rewards.

"Our employees are just starting to spend their Vitality Bucks on items such as iPods, grills and plasma TVs, and my wife and I will be doing a lot of our Christmas shopping through the Plan," he said.

Madigan said that today it is not unusual for people in the company to talk about cholesterol levels and the steps they are taking to earn Vitality Bucks.

"In my mind, there is nothing on the market like Destiny Health," he said. "It has prompted an enormous shift in our culture and frankly, I cannot imagine ever again having a health care plan that lacks a comprehensive wellness and fitness component."

Hauck agrees, "the plan addresses a critical employer cost issue, but it does so by doing a huge amount for the employees."

About the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative of Brown County

The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative of Brown County (Co-op) was created in April 2005 to stabilize health insurance rates through co-operative purchasing, personal accountability and healthier lifestyles. The two organizations that have provided the foundation of the Co-op are the Non-Profit Resource Group of Brown County, a coalition of non-profit organizations, and the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

Board members of the Co-op are Tim Day, The Weyers Group; Phil Hauck, TEC/The Executive Committee; Chuck Martin of Hansen Foods; Paul Jadin and Nan Nelson of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce; Graham Ness, Insurance Associates; Jeff Ottum of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation; Dan Madigan of Feeco International, Inc., and John Bloor of NEW Curative Rehabilitation Workshop.

About Destiny Health

Destiny Health's innovative wellness-based healthcare plan is designed to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives, by balancing health insurance coverage with incentives that motivate active participation in health care and reward healthy behaviors.

Destiny Health's wellness-based strategy is modeled after the strategy of Destiny Health's parent company, Discovery Holdings Ltd., an international life and health insurance company that has successfully enrolled over two million members in its health plan since 1992. Combined, Destiny Health and Discovery are the largest providers of wellness-based healthcare plans in the world.

Destiny Health has forged partnerships with some of the most respected and recognized names in the health and wellness field to help extend the reach of its wellness-based health plan. Members of The Destiny Health Empowerment Plan enjoy robust perks through partnerships with Life Time Fitness, Curves and other regional and local fitness facilities. To learn more, visit http://www.destinyhealth.com/.

Destiny Health

CONTACT: Calie Shackleford, +1-615-319-5599,calies@theharbingergroup.com, for Destiny Health

Web site: http://www.destinyhealth.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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