AmeriHealth New Jersey Unveils Expanded Connections(SM) Health Management Program

MT. LAUREL, N.J., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- AmeriHealth New Jersey is offering its members a dramatically expanded Connections Health Management Program designed to help them better manage their health care.

Beginning today, all AmeriHealth members in Pennsylvania and New Jersey will have access to the Connections program.

At the core of the enhanced Connections program is the belief that the partnerships between physicians and patients are improved when patients become better informed and more involved in the management of their health care.

To that end, the program supports the individual needs of each member across their spectrum of health care issues:

  -- For members with one or more chronic ailments such as heart disease,
     asthma and diabetes, the program offers access to Health Coaches who
     are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help members better
     manage these conditions - thus reducing the chances that symptoms will
     worsen and the need for hospitalizations.
  -- For members facing a serious health care decision, such as whether to
     have back surgery, Connections also offers access to Health Coaches,
     24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The Coaches offer unbiased information
     on treatment options and outcomes to help members work more effectively
     with their physicians to determine a treatment that is most appropriate
     for them.
  -- For members with everyday medical concerns, Connections offers a rich
     variety of information through the Health Coaches or through the
     "Healthwise Knowledgebase" on the Web.

"Connections is an important step toward improving healthcare," said William Haggett, President & CEO of AmeriHealth New Jersey. "By supporting, educating and encouraging our members to work with their physicians and become involved in their own healthcare, we can help create better overall health for the member. And that, we believe, also will help us reduce the cost of health care in the long run."

  The enhanced Connections program also provides:

  -- Follow-up calls from a personal Health Coach about chronic conditions
     or other health concerns, if appropriate.
  -- Health reminders about important tests.
  -- Special support and Health Coaching for those facing a significant
     treatment decision.
  -- Educational materials mailed to your home, or available via audio
     library, videotape or Web.
  -- Access to an encyclopedia of health information - "Healthwise
     Knowledgebase" offers well-organized health information on the Web.

Connections provides information and support across the spectrum of health care needs, supporting significant medical decisions and chronic conditions including asthma, diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure (CHF). It has been demonstrated that people who manage these conditions correctly can significantly reduce complications and hospitalizations due to exacerbation of their illness, thereby improving their quality of life and lowering overall health care costs.

"Health Coaches can help a member take control of their condition and remind them of the simple things they can do to achieve better overall health," says Dr. Henry Schwerner, medical director at AmeriHealth New Jersey. "These are the diseases that are most disabling to members, but when members learn to help themselves, they can improve their quality of life."

The Connections program is delivered through Health Dialog, a leading provider of Collaborative Care services.

AmeriHealth NJ provides health care coverage to 280,000 New Jersey residents. The company has built carefully-credentialed hospital and physician networks for its managed care products, with thousands of physicians and more than 100 hospitals throughout its service areas.

CONTACT: Butch Ward, Independence Blue Cross, +1-215-241-2220