Preventative health care gains traction in payor community

SAN DIEGO A focus on preventative health care is gaining traction in the payor community, a recent press release issued by Healthyroads, a subsidiary of national health and wellness company American Specialty Health, revealed Thursday.

Healthyroads membership has grown to include 3.3 million eligible members on Jan. 1, from 860,000 members at the end of 2007, the company stated.

“What is most extraordinary about this growth is that during a difficult economy, many employers and health plans have chosen to invest in wellness and prevention to improve employee health and reduce future medical claims trends,” stated George DeVries, chairman and CEO of American Specialty Health. “It demonstrates that wellness and prevention are a key, mainstream part of our health care delivery system."

And it’s working, the company noted. Of those who lost weight in the weight management program, the average weight loss per member was 16 pounds. Approximately 92% of all Healthyroads Coaching participants reduced their health risk through improvement in their eating habits, activity levels, and stress management. The six-month abstinence rate of members engaged in the Healthyroads Tobacco Cessation program is 38%. And members who quit tobacco gained less than 1 pound in the year following their quit date. 

Healthyroads is a wellness and prevention company that provides lifestyle health coaching, online wellness tools, health risk assessments, healthy incentive programs, wireless technology solutions and worksite wellness programs to assist members with weight  management, stress management, improving nutrition, increasing activity, healthy living and tobacco cessation.

Health plans, disease management companies and employer groups contract with Healthyroads to provide wellness and prevention services to their eligible members.