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TO BUSINESS, HEALTH, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
American Health Strategy Project Businesses Lead the Way in Worksite
Health Promotion
Media Contacts: Cary Conway, National Business Coalition on Health, cconway@nbch.org, 972.731.9242; Or Victoria Davis, Pfizer, Victoria.Davis@pfizer.com, 484.865.5194
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Improving health
while reducing costs was a key focus for the employers who
participated in the American Health Strategy Project (AHSP) according
to a new report released this week by the National Business Coalition
on Health (NBCH), Partnership for Prevention, and Pfizer Inc. AHSP is
a national pilot launched in 2010 by NBCH in cooperation with Pfizer,
with five business health coalitions selected to work with employers
to improve the health of their employees and families, promote
wellness and prevention, unlock the full value of health benefits, and
manage health care costs.
The business health coalitions that participated in AHSP: Dallas-Fort
Worth Business Group on Health, Midwest Business Group on Health in
Chicago, Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers, Pittsburgh
Business Group on Health and the Virginia Business Coalition on
Health.
The new report produced by Partnership for Prevention, "Creating a
Corporate Health Strategy: The American Health Strategy Project Early
Adopter Experience," tells the story of four of these coalitions and
their participating employers.
"Health programs developed with a solid understanding of an employer
population's data and clinical evidence will be more likely to improve
the health of their workforce," said Marcia Wright, PharmD, Senior
Director, Pfizer. "We've found this often to be the case in this
national project."
The strategies implemented by many of the businesses included:
promoting healthy lifestyles to employees; offering incentives for
activities like health risk assessments; providing coverage for
evidence-based preventive screenings; designing benefits based on
data; and making environmental changes to promote health.
"Through the AHSP pilots, employers recognized the value of tailoring
benefits to the health risks of their employee population and became
savvier decision makers as they were more strategically-invested,"
said Sara Hanlon, Vice President, NBCH. "Businesses nationwide can
benefit from these pilots by adopting similar models to make better,
more informed benefit decisions for their workforce."
The American Health Strategies Project is grounded in quality
improvement processes, incorporating evidence based disease support
from Pfizer's Medical Outcomes Specialists and a suite of tools to
support employers in improving the health of their population.
"Employers with strong health management teams and access to real data
can help foster healthier, more productive employees and may achieve
higher value for their health care spend," said Elissa Myers,
President and CEO, Partnership for Prevention. "We're sharing these
success stories in the hopes that other purchasers can learn from
these tested strategies."
About the National Business Coalition on Health The National Business
Coalition on Health is a national, non-profit, membership organization
of purchaser-led business and health coalitions, representing over
7,000 employers and 25 million employees and their dependents across
the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value-based
purchasing of health care services through the collective action of
public and private purchasers. www.nbch.org.
About Partnership for Prevention Partnership for Prevention is a
national organization that advances policies and practices for
evidence-based prevention. Since its inception, Partnership for
Prevention's Leading by Example initiative has served as a forum for
peer-to-peer communications targeted to employers of all sizes,
emphasizing the value of health promotion and healthy worksite
cultures. Business leaders are spotlighted and share their new and
successful approaches to worksite health and productivity.
www.prevent.org.
About Pfizer Inc. At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources
to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve
their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and
value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care
products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well
as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every
day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to
advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the
most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility
as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies,
we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local
communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable
health care around the world. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has
worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. To learn more,
please visit us at www.pfizer.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Comments from American Health Strategy Project Participants
The statements below may be used with attribution in connection with
today's announcement of the final American Health Strategy Project
report.
Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health ( www.dfwbgh.org ) "We're
pleased to share the impressive results achieved by the seven
pace-setting DFWBGH employers who participated in the Texas Health
Strategy Project. The structured, data-driven approach to benefits
design, coupled with group learning, information sharing and
collaboration, created an environment of innovation, idea generation
and mutual accountability which resulted in creative new solutions or
enhancements to existing programs to address employees' health needs."
Marianne Fazen, PhD, Executive Director, Dallas-Fort Worth Business
Group on Health
Midwest Business Group on Health ( www.mbgh.org ) "As a result of the
Midwest Health Strategy Project, MBGH employers learned how to access
and better use actionable data in order to make more informed
decisions regarding the health of their employees and develop key
benefit design decisions using innovative value-based approaches. The
project was also successful in supporting the employers to develop a
more business-focused, integrated health management strategy by
focusing on key guiding principles that fostered their individual
company's overall health and well-being." Margaret Rehayem, Senior
Director of Strategic Initiatives & Communications, Midwest Business
Group on Health
Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers ( www.ochcp.org ) "Working
with our purchaser members on the Oregon Health Strategy Project
allowed us to show members how their health plan data tells a story
about their population's health. The aggregate data brought to light
key areas for improving health cost trend. Coupled with actionable
solutions, members continue to realize value from this effort." Jill
Freeman, Member Support & Engagement Specialist
Pittsburgh Business Group on Health ( www.pbghpa.com ) "The value
individually and collectively to the Pittsburgh Business Group on
Health employer participants is demonstrated in the number of
employers that moved into "Best In Class" in the four core principles
over the course of the project. In addition, many of the employers
continue to use the AHSP as a template for other additional
value-based health initiatives." Diane C. McClune BSN, MBA, Director
of Operations, Pittsburgh Business Group on Health
Virginia Business Coalition on Health ( www.myvbch.org ) "Challenged
to achieve optimum value for every dollar spent on health care,
Virginia Health Strategy Project employers were open to address
population and organizational strategies that addressed the ever
growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease."
Eileen Ciccotelli, MPM, Vice President, Virginia Business Coalition on
Health
SOURCE National Business Coalition on Health; Partnership for
Prevention
-0- 03/31/2014
/Web Site: http://www.nbch.org
CO: National Business Coalition on Health; Partnership for Prevention; Pfizer Inc.
ST: District of Columbia
IN: PHA WRK HEA MTC
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0000 03/31/2014 11:30:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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