SeeChange Health Insurance To Partner with California Smokers' Helpline To Offer a Free Smoking Cessation Benefit to Members

STUDIO CITY, Calif., April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SeeChange Health Insurance, the leader in value-based benefit design solutions for small and midsized employers and the fastest-growing health plan in California, is partnering with the California Smokers' Helpline to offer a free smoking cessation program to its members.  The Helpline, also known as 1-800-NO-BUTTS, offers free, evidence-based, telephone counseling in six languages to help smokers quit.  With this partnership, SeeChange Health members will also receive nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which significantly increases quit rates.

"Smoking poses serious health risks, and we want to ensure our members have the tools they need to quit the habit and live healthier, more productive lives," said Sean Penwell, Chief Medical Officer of SeeChange Health. "By teaming up with California Smokers' Helpline we now offer our members a proven solution to overcome a difficult health issue."

Under this arrangement with the Helpline, SeeChange Health members will receive free counseling sessions with trained and experienced professionals who work with them to design a personalized plan that meets their individual goals.  Additionally, as part of the program, members may receive up to four weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy, shipped directly to their home. "SeeChange Health's unique approach encourages and rewards members for taking steps to become healthy," added Dr. Penwell.  "This program adds to our line-up of proactive actions members can take to better manage their health."

SeeChange Health is the first health plan in California to partner with the Helpline in this innovative public-private partnership.  With the Helpline's high name recognition and credibility among the medical community and the public, SeeChange Health sees this as an opportunity to leverage an accessible program and provide added value for its members. The Helpline sees similar benefits. "By partnering with SeeChange Health to add NRT to the counseling services already provided by the Helpline, we will increase the effectiveness of our program without adding cost to the state of California," said Christopher Anderson, Program Director for the Helpline.

About SeeChange Health
SeeChange Health delivers plans, technology and services aimed at creating better health and quality of life for employees, increasing workforce productivity, and lowering health care costs by encouraging individuals to play an active role in managing their health to prevent, detect and treat serious health conditions. SeeChange Health Insurance provides value-based benefit plans to fully insured employer groups in California and Colorado. SeeChange Health Solutions provides a completely customizable consumer engagement and health incentive technology platform to employers, health plans and third party administrators delivering the cost-controlling advantages of value-based benefit plans. Fast Company magazine acknowledged the power of SeeChange Health's approach to wellness in naming it #20 on its list of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" for 2013. For more information, visit www.SeeChangeHealth.com.

About the California Smokers' Helpline
The California Smokers' Helpline (1-800-NO-BUTTS) is a free statewide quit smoking service operated by the University of California San Diego and funded by the California Department of Public Health and First 5 California. The Helpline offers self-help materials, referral to local programs, and one-on-one, telephone counseling to help Californians quit smoking. Helpline services have been proven in clinical trials to double a smoker's chances of successfully quitting. Services are available in six languages (English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, and Vietnamese) and specialized services are also available for teens, pregnant women, and tobacco chewers. The Helpline also provides information to friends and family members of tobacco users.

Contact:

Susan Cotton

818-824-9164

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SOURCE SeeChange Health