UPMC Health Plan Wins Platinum Award from National Business Group on Health

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For its innovative programs that promote a healthy workplace and for helping employees and their families make better choices about their own health and well-being, UPMC Health Plan and UPMC were given the Platinum Award from the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) for a fourth consecutive year.

UPMC Health Plan and UPMC earned the recognition for delivering innovative and comprehensive health management programs and services through its MyHealth program which is designed to maintain and advance the health, productivity, and quality of life of employees, while reducing their incidence of health risks and the cost of those risks to their employer.

As a result, UPMC's total health care cost trend has dropped to 1.1 percent, far below national and regional averages, which are near 7 percent. Health care cost trend measures the change in the cost of healthcare.

"UPMC Health Plan is extremely proud of this honor," said Diane P. Holder, President and CEO of UPMC Health Plan and Executive Vice President of UPMC. "It reflects our commitment to a healthy workplace and to improving the health and well-being of those we serve. To have earned this recognition for four years in a row demonstrates that our commitment is unwavering."

Since its inception in 2004, MyHealth (a product of UPMC WorkPartners) has been fully supported by UPMC senior leadership as both a business strategy for health and productivity management and as an employee empowerment tool that helps to enhance engagement. Employees have likewise embraced the initiative, averaging more than 90 percent participation every year.

MyHealth is an award-winning workplace wellness program that can be purchased through UPMC WorkPartners by any employer group, regardless of its health insurer. At present, more than 25,000 employees in Western Pennsylvania use MyHealth as a one-stop shop for managing their health with access to personal health coaching and on-line programs on health-related topics like nutrition and tobacco cessation. 

UPMC Health Plan and UPMC (combined as a joint entry) was one of only 30 companies in the nation to be selected as platinum winners for the 2012 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award. UPMC Health Plan and UPMC is one of only nine companies to have earned this award for four or more consecutive years. 

"Our employees are continuing to see significant health improvements related to their healthier lifestyles, including quitting smoking, increasing their physical activity, maintaining healthier weights, and decreasing their overall health risk," said John Galley, Vice President, Corporate Human Resources, UPMC.  "These health improvements result in a better quality of life for our employees at work and at home, and in an overall healthier workforce."

Other notable results of the MyHealth program include:

• Over 90 percent of employees have participated in health risk assessment surveys.
• Over 98 percent of employees participate in "Take A Healthy Step" programs.
• There has been a 38 percent reduction in tobacco use by employees over a six-year period through the use of tobacco control strategies delivered by MyHealth.  
• More than 9,000 employees participated in a recent "weight race" and lost a combined 16.5 tons over 12 weeks.
• UPMC's "Let's Get Active" campaign, which encourages employees to exercise the equivalent of one mile or more on five or more days per week for four weeks, attracted over 3,000 employees to participate and logged activity steps equal to more than 212,000 miles.

UPMC Health Plan offers the MyHealth program and associated health coaching and support services to employer groups of all sizes. Its benefits for employees include smoking cessation training, weight loss tips, as well as wellness and fitness programs.

"We are very pleased to recognize UPMC Health Plan and UPMC for its ongoing commitment to providing lifestyle improvement programs that encourage healthy lifestyles for their employees," said Helen Darling, President and CEO of NBGH. "UPMC Health Plan and its management team should be proud for their dedication and recognizing the importance of promoting and maintaining a healthy workforce."

Other Platinum award winners included Campbell Soup Co., Pepsico, Mayo Clinic, and H.J. Heinz Co.

"From offering on-site medical clinics and physical activity initiatives to health advocacy, coaching and weight management programs, these forward-thinking companies are leading the way in promoting healthy lifestyles," said LuAnn Heinen, vice president of NBGH. "These efforts will have long-lasting positive results for employers, employees and their families and can be used as examples by other companies looking to promote healthy lifestyles in workplaces."  

About UPMC Health Plan

UPMC Health Plan, the second-largest health insurer in western Pennsylvania, is owned by UPMC, one of the nation's top-ranked health systems. The integrated partner companies of the UPMC Insurance Services Division – which includes UPMC Health Plan, UPMC WorkPartners, LifeSolutions (EAP), UPMC for You (Medical Assistance), and Community Care Behavioral Health – offer a full range of group health insurance, Medicare, Special Needs, CHIP, Medical Assistance, behavioral health, employee assistance, and workers' compensation products and services to nearly 1.8 million members. Our local provider network includes UPMC as well as community providers, totaling more than 125 hospitals and more than 11,500 physicians throughout Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. For more information, visit www.upmchealthplan.com.

About UPMC

UPMC is a $10 billion global health enterprise with more than 55,000 employees headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., and is transforming health care by integrating more than 20 hospitals, 400 doctors' offices and outpatient sites, a health insurance services division, and international and commercial services. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC is redefining health care by using innovative science, technology and medicine to invent new models of accountable, cost-efficient and patient-centered care. For more information on how UPMC is taking medicine from where it is to where it needs to be, go to UPMC.com.

About UPMC WorkPartners

UPMC WorkPartners is part of the world-renowned UPMC global health enterprise. UPMC WorkPartners provides health and productivity solutions to high-performing companies throughout the United States. Its products and services are designed to identify an organization's health and productivity needs, build better strategies, effectively manage programs, and continually monitor and measure to drive the outcomes needed to control organizational costs and improve employee productivity.  UPMC WorkPartners experts deliver both tactical services that align with a company's existing health and productivity programs, and fully integrated comprehensive solutions designed to provide an organization even greater results.

Note to Media:

UPMC Health Plan can make available individual employees who can share stories of how their lifestyles have changed as a result of the MyHealth program.

SOURCE UPMC Health Plan

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