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Health Alliance Medical Plans Chooses HealthMedia to Provide Suite of Online Wellness and Behavioral Health Programs to Members

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 12:01 CST

URBANA, Ill., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Alliance Medical Plans announced today they have selected HealthMedia, Inc., the global leader in scalable behavior change interventions to deliver its comprehensive suite of wellness and behavioral health interventions to eligible plan members. HealthMedia's programming will be complemented with telephonic health and wellness counseling provided by APS Healthcare, one of the country's leading specialty healthcare companies.

The online behavior change interventions include HealthMedia(R) Succeed(TM), a health risk assessment (HRA), HealthMedia(R) Balance(TM); a weight management and physical activity program, HealthMedia(R) Nourish(TM); a healthy eating program, HealthMedia(R) Breathe(TM); a smoking cessation program and HealthMedia(R) Relax(TM); a stress reduction program. The program also includes two behavioral health programs, HealthMedia(R) Overcoming(TM) Depression and HealthMedia(R) Overcoming(TM) Insomnia. The programs are being offered in 2007 as a pilot program to select employers who agree to offer incentives to their employees for participation. Health Alliance is working with their employers' groups to design incentive campaigns such as the $240 annual reduction in insurance premiums selected by Carle Clinic Association, the first pilot group to sign on and the owner of Health Alliance.

Once an employee completes the HRA Succeed(TM), he or she will be stratified based upon health status, biometric factors and levels of self- confidence and motivation to change unhealthy behaviors. A tailored plan will then be generated for each individual member that prioritizes which of the wellness and/or behavioral health interventions are most relevant. Those who are stratified as high risk will also qualify for wellness coaching. All individual employee data is HIPAA-compliant and is not shared with the employer.

The wellness coaches provided by APS Healthcare will discuss the employee's HRA results if the employee agrees, review each step of their tailored action plan, and identify strategies to overcome barriers and other obstacles to change their behavior. Follow-up sessions will provide continued education, monitoring and support including assisting employees in measuring their goals and revisions to their action plans.

Dr. Robert Scully, Health Alliance Chief Medical Officer comments, "Our investment in HealthMedia's online behavior change interventions and wellness coaching from APS represents our commitment to provide the best in class wellness and prevention services to our members. We are working with each employer group in the pilot to help them understand how the health of their company is directly related to the health of their employees and why incenting needed lifestyle change is in their best interest. Arming their employees, our members, with the most innovative programming enables them to make healthier choices and improve their overall quality of life."

Comments Ted Dacko, HealthMedia President and CEO, "We are thrilled that Health Alliance Medical Plans has chosen HealthMedia's scalable, efficacious interventions for their wellness and behavioral health initiatives. We look forward to helping their members achieve their goals, whether they are healthy, at-risk or already diagnosed with a chronic condition. Because our interventions are scalable, we can meet each participant anywhere they are on the care continuum."

"We are excited to expand our partnership with HealthMedia to provide our industry-leading wellness coaching, which is an important aspect of influencing positive behavioral change," said Eileen Auen, CEO of APS Healthcare. "By focusing on healthcare for the mind and body, our wellness coaches will assist Health Alliance Medical Plan members achieve better overall health."

About Health Alliance Medical Plans

Health Alliance Medical Plans provides health care coverage to more than 260,000 members in Illinois and Iowa. Health Alliance is named among the top- rated health plans in the nation of all commercial and Medicare health plans in the 2006 U.S. News and World Report and National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) pick of 'America's Best Health Plans.' Additionally, in recognition of its exceptional commitment to quality, Health Alliance has maintained the highest accreditation possible from NCQA for its HMO, POS and Medicare HMO plans since 1997. Owned by Carle Clinic Association, one of the largest private physician groups in the nation, Health Alliance has corporate offices located in Urbana, IL.

About HealthMedia, Inc.

HealthMedia, Inc. is the global leader in scalable behavior change interventions. HealthMedia's proven outcomes increase compliance, reduce medical utilization, and increase productivity in order to improve profitability for health plans, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and behavioral health organizations. With its powerful combination of proven behavior science, sophisticated technology and creative marketing, HealthMedia delivers individually tailored self-management interventions for health and wellness, disease management, medication compliance, and behavioral health. Notable clients include Kaiser Permanente, UPS, Cleveland Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, GSK, and eight Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations across the United States. HealthMedia partners include APS Healthcare, Corphealth, Health Dialog, and SHPS. For more information, visit http://www.healthmedia.com/.

About APS Healthcare

APS Healthcare, headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., is a leading provider of specialty healthcare solutions that cover more than 20 million members in the United States. APS offers customized, integrated healthcare solutions across two major healthcare product lines -- care management and behavioral health services. APS operates under the belief that managing healthcare for the mind and body improves overall health and reduces total healthcare spending. For more information, visit http://www.apshealthcare.com/.

HealthMedia, Inc.

CONTACT: Sally Hart Petersen, Vice President, Marketing,+1-734-623-5485, for HealthMedia, Inc.; Sarah Clark-Lynn, Manager, CorporateCommunications, +1-800-305-3720, ext. 3266, for APS Healthcare; or JocelynBrowning, Media Relations Coordinator, +1-217-255-4595, for Health AllianceMedical Plans

Web site: http://www.healthmedia.com/http://www.apshealthcare.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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