Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Sharecare team up to empower all Arizonans to improve health and well-being

ATLANTA and PHOENIX, Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ), the state's largest locally based healthcare insurer, and Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, today announced a strategic partnership to empower every Arizonan, regardless of insurance coverage, to improve their holistic health and well-being. Additionally, this deal provides exclusivity to BCBSAZ as the only Arizona-based health plan to offer the Sharecare platform to members or commercial customer groups.

"Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona has a strong commitment to improve the value of healthcare for not only our members, but every single Arizonan. Sharecare embraces our same dedication to helping people build longer, better lives by enabling health transformation at the individual, organizational, and community levels," said Pam Kehaly, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. "It's our privilege to be the only Arizona-based plan offering Sharecare's personalized health platform and to embark on this journey to make Arizona one of the healthiest states in the country."

Founded by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Sharecare helps people better understand their health and get timely and actionable steps to improve it. Starting with the proprietary, scientifically validated RealAge test – which calculates the actual age of the user's body based on lifestyle factors and key indicators for health risks – Sharecare enables people to go from assessment to action, and connect to the personalized information, evidence-based programs, benefits, community resources and health services they need to live their best lives. Using RealAge as each individual's baseline, Sharecare then motivates users to engage in their health every day by helping them track their "green days" – the metric Sharecare uses to measure users' daily progress toward their personalized health goals – which, when accumulated over time, can result in a lower RealAge.

"BCBSAZ has shown that it is committed to engaging the community and collaborating with all stakeholders to improve health across the state, and we are proud to partner with them to help every Arizonan – no matter where they are in their health journey," said Jeff Arnold, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. "Together, we will inspire a movement to advance community-driven health in Arizona, helping everyone take better care of themselves, get access to the right services and practitioners at the right time, and increase their productivity and quality of life."

As part of the new partnership kicking off in 2020, any Arizonan can download Sharecare to learn their RealAge, earn green days and follow a personalized, evidence-based journey to better health. Additionally, Arizonans who are BCBSAZ members will have enhanced services through Sharecare, including access to claims data; custom challenges and incentive fulfillment; and additional tools and information, including best-in-class lifestyle coaching.

"Managing your health – especially on top of everything else you have to do every day – is hard, and those who also are in charge of caring for loved ones are likely putting others' health and well-being above their own," said Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-founder of Sharecare and host of "The Dr. Oz Show." "We are proud to partner with BCBSAZ to make it easier than ever for Arizonans to better understand and take control of their own well-being, which will inspire healthier lifestyles not only for their friends and family but also throughout their communities."

For the last 10 years, Sharecare surveyed more than 2.7 million Americans to measure the well-being of states and municipalities by analyzing both physical and non-physical factors of health across purpose, social, financial, community and physical domains. According to the 2018 state rankings from that national survey, Arizona ranked 15^th for overall well-being in the United States. While this reflects a strong overall position relative to the 35 states below it, the data also reveals areas where Arizona has opportunities to improve, including daily stress (46.7%), smoking (18.4%) and unhealthy BMIs (49%). 

Arnold added, "As we empower everyone in Arizona to more easily navigate their way to well-being, we are significantly expanding on the datasets and metrics that most health indices track to better understand pressing health challenges across the state at a hyperlocal level. We are committed to scaling this higher ledge of community-driven care, and making Arizona not simply a healthier place to work, live and play, but ultimately improving the state's overall well-being to be among the best in the country." 

Additionally, BCBSAZ joins an impressive roster of Sharecare investors, whose reach extends from the living room to doctors' exam rooms and into the workplace. Sharecare's strategic investors include hospitals, healthcare investment firms and health plans, in particular, HCA, Trinity Health, the Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund and CareFirst; media companies Discovery Communications, Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television; high-growth technology investment firms such as Claritas Capital; noted crossover fund Wellington Management; Aflac Corporate Ventures; Quest Diagnostics; Wells Fargo; and Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance providers. Since its founding, Sharecare has raised more than $425 million in total capital.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) is committed to helping Arizonans get healthier faster and stay healthier longer. With a focus on connecting people with the care they need, BCBSAZ offers health insurance and related services to more than 1.5 million customers. BCBSAZ, a not-for-profit company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The company employs more than 1,800 people in its Phoenix, Chandler, Flagstaff, and Tucson offices. Through advanced clinical programs and community outreach, BCBSAZ is inspiring health. To learn more, visit azblue.com.

About Sharecare
Sharecare is the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place. The Sharecare platform provides each person – no matter where they are in their health journey – with a comprehensive and personalized health profile where they can dynamically and easily connect to the information, evidence-based programs and health professionals they need to live their healthiest, happiest and most productive lives. In addition to providing individual consumers with direct access to award-winning and innovative frictionless technologies, scientifically validated clinical protocols and best-in-class coaching tools, Sharecare also helps providers, employers and health plans effectively scale outcomes-based health and wellness solutions across their entire populations. To learn more, visit www.sharecare.com.

SOURCE Sharecare