June 21, 2004

By: Sanya Millard
Website: http://www.1st-in-wellness.com

A new program from Aetna, designed to help members live a healthier lifestyle and control weight

Aetna announced today a new program designed to help members live a healthier lifestyle and control their weight. The program was unveiled at The TIME/ABC News Summit on Obesity in Williamsburg, Virginia, which was sponsored in part by Aetna.

Fighting excessive weight is one of the toughest challenges facing many Americans today, and this is a battle that millions of people just aren't winning, said William C. Popik, M.D., Aetna's chief medical officer. Being overweight or obese often has a negative impact on a person's quality of life, overall health, and professional productivity and we believe Aetna's members can benefit from the additional support we intend to offer through this program.

The program offers a tiered approach to weight management based on a member's body mass index, and the presence of medical complications such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia or coronary artery disease. Enrollment is voluntary, and includes:

-- Incentives for participation and increased physical activity, such as pedometers.

-- Discounts to community-based weight loss programs.

-- Outreach and support from nurses and weight loss counselors, as well as coordination with the member's primary care physician.

-- Ethnically appropriate, nutritional menus to encourage healthy eating among diverse populations.

Dr. Popik introduced the program during a panel discussion, The Shift Toward Prevention, during which the costs of treating obesity and the resulting health complications were discussed, along with steps that insurers, the government, health care providers and employers can take to encourage weight management.

Panelists, in addition to Dr. Popik, included: Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., United States Surgeon General, Commander, USPHS Commissioned Corps, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Jim Marks, M.D., director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Peter B. Corr, senior vice president, Science and Technology, Pfizer Inc. The panel was moderated by Tim Johnson, M.D., medical editor, ABC News.

Aetna's new program will be made available on a pilot basis to a group of employers beginning in October. Aetna will work closely with these customers to study the program's effectiveness, costs and clinical outcomes, and will use the experience to support evidence-based decisions on how to improve the program and broaden its availability in 2005.

Members in the program with a higher BMI and the presence of complicating health factors will receive more intensive outreach from nurses and weight loss counselors. In addition, Aetna will be reaching out to network physicians, providing information on the identification of obese individuals and the positive impact of weight loss counseling, and sharing the resources available within Aetna to assist physicians in providing information to their patients.

Initial goals for the program are to monitor member success with weight loss, lowered BMI scores, increased exercise levels, better control of blood glucose and lipid levels, and reduced hypertension, reduced obesity-related visits to physicians and adherence to medications associated with complicating medical conditions.

Aetna is concerned about the health effects of obesity, and has a tradition of incorporating healthy lifestyles as a key component of numerous programs that take a holistic approach to optimal health, said Cheryl Pegus, M.D., M.P.H. national medical director for Women's Health, who led the program's development. We are looking at the long-term effects of obesity, including increased rates of metabolic syndrome among obese and overweight populations.

Our goal is to help our members achieve a healthy weight and lifestyle to prevent the onset of the serious health conditions that can be caused by obesity. We will leverage our existing programs to enhance the success of our new weight management program.

Aetna's existing health programs and initiatives complement the new weight management program and stress the importance of a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise, and include:

-- Aetna's Simple Steps To A Healthier Life Web-based program, which includes a health risk assessment form and helps engage members/patients in their own health management.

-- Aetna's Fitness Program, which provides members with discounts at more than 1,500 health clubs as well as discounts on certain home fitness equipment. The program is available to Aetna members who have both medical and dental coverage, at no additional charge to employers.

-- Aetna's suite of disease management programs, which stress the importance of a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise in the context of managing certain chronic conditions that are aggravated or caused by obesity.

Aetna also is a charter member of the National Business Group on Health's Institute on the Cost and Health Effects of Obesity. This is a flagship effort to work collaboratively with numerous partners to develop effective worksite programs that focus on weight management.

Statistics around obesity support the need for this program, and its initial design, including:

-- Nearly two thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese, a rate higher than any other nation in the world.

-- Each year, 300,000 deaths in the United States are associated with obesity.

-- Overweight and obesity are associated with heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems, and psychological disorders, such as depression.

-- The increases in overweight and obesity cut across all ages, racial and ethnic groups, and both genders.

-- U.S. obesity-attributable medical expenditures reached $75 billion in 2003, about half of which were financed by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid.

-- For the obese employee population:

-- Annual health care costs are 37.4 percent higher

-- Annual hospital inpatient days are 45 percent higher

-- Lost workdays annually due to obesity are 39.3 million

-- M.D. office visits related to obesity are 62.7 million

About The Author:

Sanya Millard is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-wellness.com.  Obtaining and keeping good health through healthy living, natural healing, great mental health and healthy finances.