Promoting Prevention and Wellness

Transforming our health care system from one that simply treats people when they are sick to preventing illness is critically important – not only because it will keep people healthier and more productive, but also because chronic diseases are a major contributor to rising health care spending in the United States and thus rising insurance premiums.  If we find ways to better prevent chronic diseases from occurring, we can make health care more affordable for everyone. 

Health plans have long championed the movement toward prevention and wellness.  By working together with doctors, hospitals, other clinical professionals, employers and government, we are helping people stay healthy --- and offering incentives to keep people well.

RELATED RESOURCES 


bcbs floridaImmunization Innovations
AHIP’s online compendia of pioneering programs and leading best practices for measuring and improving immunization rates. Complete with examples of outreach tools, educational resources, and marketing materials, Immunization Innovations highlights promising models that health plans around the country have used to improve immunization rates in all populations.  


flyerAHIP's Influenza Campaign Flyer 
Each year more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu.

 

 

 

Early InterventionEarly Intervention
Childhood Obesity Programs aim to put kids on a new healthier path to adulthood 

 

 


Unhealthy WeightAHIP Releases Recommendations for Addressing Obesity
AHIP’s white paper, Facing the Challenge of Unhealthy Weight: Recommendations for the Health Care Community, offers several recommendations and examines promising programs that health insurance plans and clinicians have developed in collaboration with community partners to encourage body mass index (BMI) screening and address the obesity epidemic. Recommendations include making routine BMI screening and interpretation a standard clinical practice; connecting BMI screening to evidence-based prevention and treatment options; and building partnerships and disseminating promising practices among health plans, physicians and clinicians, employers and community groups.


Preventing Childhood ObesityReducing and Preventing Childhood Obesity, Health Insurance Plans Partnering in Communities 
Summer 2011 
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and member health plans are actively engaged in developing innovative strategies to improve the health of children and reduce the risks associated with obesity. 

 

COMBATHealth Insurance Plans' Innovative Initiatives to Combat Cardiovascular Disease
Fall 2011
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, with more than one in four people dying from heart disease every year. People of all backgrounds are affected, and heart disease is influenced by many factors. Research shows a clustering of these factors puts people at increased risk for poor health outcomes.


Innovations in Chronic Disease Prevention & TreatmentTrends and Innovations in Chronic Disease Prevention & Treatment: An Update on Medicare Advantage Plans
April 2008
An overview of key trends in chronic care, highlighting Medicare Advantage plans' recent innovations.

View full report
View report by topic area
View report by company 


Innovations in PreventionHealth Plan Innovators in Prevention, Wellness and Risk Reduction
November 2008
AHIP’s Innovations in Prevention, Wellness and Risk Reduction monograph highlights innovations that exemplify health insurance plans’ commitment to programs that prevent disease and improve the lives of their members and their communities by helping them stay well. The publication features forty company profiles and essays by five noted experts who explore the reasons why the related challenges of prevention, wellness and risk reduction for chronic disease require both innovative and comprehensive responses. View full report
View report by topic area
View report by company 

 

sentaraView Related Videos on Promoting Prevention and Wellness