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 Documents
Early Intervention
Childhood Obesity Programs aim to put kids on a new healthier path to adulthood
AHIP 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.
Reducing 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.
Health Insurance Plans' Innovation 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.
Trends 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.
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Health 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.
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