BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Managed care health plans and area hospitals are expanding preventive programs, hoping to improve several of Greater Cincinnati's most troublesome health problems.
Recent medical studies show that Tristate residents suffer higher than average rates of heart disease, cancer and other diseases, largely because we smoke too much, eat badly and don't get enough exercise.
Health plans see promoting wellness as a win-win situation. Many people would feel better and live longer by cutting back on bad habits. Meanwhile, health plans make more profit when fewer people need hospital or doctor care.
In April, Prudential HealthCare launched five programs for its members, including a smoking-cessation starter kit with discount coupons for nicotine gum or patches, a discount catalog of home fitness products to encourage exercise, a discount bicycle helmet program, and a pregnancy wellness program that includes a free copy of the how-to manual What to Expect When You're Expecting. Meanwhile, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has expanded its "Healthy Advice" distribution of posters, displays and booklets through area doctors and employers. Topics include heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and smoking cessation.
Since last May, Anthem has started 160 work-site programs and 55 physician office programs, mostly in Cincinnati. Now, the company has introduced information focusing on asthma, while expanding its programs into Dayton, Ohio.
In March, Aetna U.S. Healthcare expanded its diabetes management program. The health plan now covers the cost of blood glucose monitors and test strips; insulin supplies already were covered. Aetna also co-sponsors a national heart health hot line run by the American Heart Association, 1-888-MY-HEART.
Meanwhile in Wilmington, Clinton Memorial Hospital and the local YMCA have launched a corporate wellness program. Offerings include smoking-cessation classes, weight management, fitness assessments and on-site fitness classes.
"Employees in poor physical condition are ill more often and recover more slowly," said Tina Parrish, YMCA Corporate Services Director.
