HARRISBURG and PITTSBURGH, Pa., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance employees statewide have collectively taken 30.8 million steps in the first six weeks of a 12-week fitness program. That’s the equivalent of walking from New York City to Los Angeles nearly five times.
“As an employer, we believe there is a terrific opportunity to encourage our employees to take responsibility for maintaining good health habits,” explained Francis S. Soistman, Jr., president and CEO of HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance. “Walking is an easy, low-impact way to stay active, feel better and gain more energy.”
The insurers’ Walking Your Way to Fitness program involves almost one out of every five of its employees, and the participants have averaged more than 300,000 steps each since the program started. All participants are aiming to reach 10,000 steps a day - about double the steps the average American takes. Throughout the program, the participants receive health tips and information, plus they are eligible for a grand prize drawing at the end of the program on Nov. 3.
“We did this first and foremost to help our employees live healthier lives,” said Soistman. “But we also wanted to walk the talk, so to speak. We believe in helping people take responsibility for their own health. So we wanted to demonstrate to the business community ways that they can help their employees get fit - at little or no cost. Most companies can’t afford to have a gym for their employees, but they can afford to encourage their staff to walk. In fact, they can’t afford not to.”
Lack of activity and poor lifestyle choices are major factors in most health care problems. Encouraging healthier behaviors not only helps people feel better, it can also help lower health care usage and control rising health care costs.
The Walking Your Way to Fitness program is one of many employee wellness programs taking place at HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance. In May, HealthAmerica implemented an internal wellness program called Wellness in the Works. This program is led by a committee of employees from each of the company’s offices.
Some of the committee’s activities have included: - A Fitness Walk during which senior management led employees on a short walk around the company’s offices, local parks and walking trails. - Placing healthier selections in the cafeteria and office vending machines. - Hosting Weight Watchers meetings at its offices. - Hosting on-site nutrition and wellness classes. - Distributing weekly health tips to all employees.
HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance also offer a number of programs to help members live healthier lives. These include:
- A free online health risk assessment evaluation tool to help members benchmark and improve their health. - A “Healthy Living and Wellness” section on their website that offers diet tips, exercise incentives, discounts on healthy products, healthy recipes, calorie calculators, and more. - Reimbursement on the cost of most approved wellness programs offered through local hospitals and organizations. - The Members Choice program which offers discounts on complementary and alternative care. - A partnership with GlobalFit which offers members discounts on fitness club memberships. About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 29-year record in managed care. HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies cover over 730,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through HMO, POS, PPO, Medicaid, and MedicareAdvantage plans. In addition, HealthAmerica earned an “Excellent” Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an “Excellent” Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America’s health care. With corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance provide managed health care products and services to over 11,000 employers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. HealthAmerica and its affiliates employ over 1,500 people in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit HealthAmerica’s website at http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/ .
HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
CONTACT: Kendall Marcocci, Director of Communications of HealthAmericaand HealthAssurance, +1-717-540-6746, or kmarcocci@cvty.com
Web site: http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/