Linkwell Health & Premera Blue Cross Announce New Coupon Program for Members With Chronic Health Conditions

NEEDHAM, Mass., Oct. 27 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Linkwell Health, the leading provider of lifestyle driven wellness programs, and Premera Blue Cross, a provider of health plans and related services, announced a program to support Premera members with chronic health conditions. More than 31,000 members in Premera plans, as well as its affiliated health plans, will be provided access to coupons and recipes to help encourage healthy eating and lifestyle habits. The new program in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington is another step by Premera to support its members in making healthy lifestyle choices.

"Let's face it, the reality for a lot of people is that making healthy choices is not always easy.  Premera is always looking for ways to help our members overcome the small barriers to healthy day-to-day decisions - like cost and convenience," said Dr. Roki Chauhan, Premera's Chief Medical Officer. "The more we can support the selection of healthy foods and nutritious menus, the more likely we are to make a difference in improving the health of our members."

Beginning October 25th, select members will be mailed coupons for Better-for-You foods, like whole grain rice and cereals, lower salt options for soup and tuna, in addition to blood pressure monitoring devices. By helping health plans put healthy food options in front of their members, Linkwell Health empowers consumers to make better food choices that fit their lifestyle.

"Premera is clearly committed to supporting its members in finding healthy lifestyle choices," said Benjamin Gardner, Linkwell Health president and CEO. This program is the next logical step in providing support for choosing lifestyle changes with real results. The Linkwell Health program provides simple, "can-do" health and wellness solutions aimed at today's time-starved consumers."  

Linkwell Health focuses on providing "Better-for-You" diet, health and wellness-related alternatives to assist those with chronic conditions in making positive lifestyle changes that can be sustained. Linkwell Health knows that time and money factor into the equation. Providing coupons and fast, easy recipes for today's busy consumers, makes taking the first step toward healthier diet and exercise habits both approachable and doable.  

About Premera Blue Cross

Our mission is to provide peace of mind to our members about their healthcare coverage. We provide health coverage and related services to more than 1.4 million people. Premera Blue Cross has operated in Washington since 1933, and Alaska since 1952. Premera Blue Cross is a not-for-profit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Premera Blue Cross is a member of a family of companies based in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, that provide health, life, vision, dental, stop-loss, disability, and other related products and services.

About Linkwell Health

Linkwell Health is the leading provider of lifestyle-driven wellness programs. Linkwell Health applies market insights from food purchasing data to design customized food couponing programs for health plans, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and employers. Founded in 2007, Linkwell Health is a privately owned company working with leaders in the health care industry. Linkwell Health is not a licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.  Linkwell Health offers analytics, branded materials and performance reporting to track the impact of healthy couponing on member populations both short and long term. For more information, please visit www.linkwellhealth.com.



Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/27/2586703_linkwell-health-premera-blue-cross.html#ixzz142aPuZJD