Linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com Engage, Simplify, Drive healthier results Wed, 02 May 2012 17:10:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota receives help making healthy eating affordable http://linkwellhealth.com/blue-cross-and-blue-shield-of-minnesota-members-receive-help-making-healthy-eating-more-affordable/ http://linkwellhealth.com/blue-cross-and-blue-shield-of-minnesota-members-receive-help-making-healthy-eating-more-affordable/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:36:16 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=748 Continue reading →]]> EAGAN, Minn. (August 9, 2011) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) has teamed with Linkwell Health to deliver national, brand-name manufacturer coupons that offer wholesome choices to help members focus on their health. Blue Cross’ new coupon program recently reached the mailboxes of more than 90,000 of its members with coupons and recipes for “better-for-you” foods to make healthier choices, save money and achieve a sustainable healthy lifestyle. Coupons varied from high fiber pasta to dental care products.

“Blue Cross wants to make the healthy choice the easy choice for our members,” shared Dr. Paul Karazija, Senior Medical Director, Blue Cross. “Healthy lifestyle choices can help manage conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. Linkwell brings a complementary offering to Blue Cross’ multi-faceted approach to helping people lead healthier lives.”

Blue Cross members will receive additional coupons and recipes this fall and quarterly mailings thereafter. Members’ response will determine the next phase of this healthy choices program. Wellness offerings, such as coupons and recipes, are just small examples of how Blue Cross is helping people get healthier. Blue Cross has a tradition of keeping Minnesotans healthy by leading efforts from taking on Big Tobacco to sponsoring Nice Ride Minnesota to the do.® Campaign.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota’s first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today as a health company: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. Blue Cross is a not-for-profit, taxable organization. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to bluecrossmn.com to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

About Linkwell Health

Boston-based Linkwell Health (www.linkwellhealth.com) develops proven engagement programs to improve the health and wellness of Americans. The company links together health plans, better-for-you brands and retailers to encourage positive lifestyle change through simple approaches. Linkwell Health creates customized, turnkey incentive and guidance programs for health plans to distribute to their members. Targeted mailings and online solutions make it easier and more affordable for members to choose healthier options.

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/blue-cross-and-blue-shield-of-minnesota-members-receive-help-making-healthy-eating-more-affordable/feed/ 0 HealthPartners http://linkwellhealth.com/healthpartners/ http://linkwellhealth.com/healthpartners/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:06:53 +0000 linkwell http://localhost/linkwell/?p=697 “Behavior doesn’t change overnight. The HealthyOptions program provides simple guidance, information, and real savings to our members that we hope will motivate them to make better lifestyle choices, and take the initial small steps to initiate long-term behavior change.”

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/healthpartners/feed/ 0 Premera http://linkwellhealth.com/premera/ http://linkwellhealth.com/premera/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:05:37 +0000 linkwell http://localhost/linkwell/?p=694 Continue reading →]]> “This program complements our member engagement programs nicely and our members have responded very positively. Some members even reached out to thank us for the for the guidance and support this program provides.”

Member quote- ” I loved getting these coupons. I tried a couple of new things that I wouldn’t have normally. This is a great program. I look forward to getting more.”

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/premera/feed/ 0 Medical Mutual of Ohio http://linkwellhealth.com/medical-mutual-of-ohio/ http://linkwellhealth.com/medical-mutual-of-ohio/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:59:17 +0000 linkwell http://localhost/linkwell/?p=691 Continue reading →]]> “We have been very pleased with the mailers and have found your organization to be strategic, organized, accessible, and easy to work with.”

Member quote- “I wanted to thank you so much for sending the coupons. I deeply appreciate the thoughtfulness and caring that Medical Mutual expresses to its members, and I wanted to make sure that you knew that it was so very useful to me.”

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/medical-mutual-of-ohio/feed/ 0 Linkwell Health and EmblemHealth®Team up to Offer Practical Health and Wellness Program http://linkwellhealth.com/linkwell-health-and-emblemhealth%c2%aeteam-up-to-offer-practical-health-and-wellness-program/ http://linkwellhealth.com/linkwell-health-and-emblemhealth%c2%aeteam-up-to-offer-practical-health-and-wellness-program/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:20:23 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=628 Continue reading →]]> EmblemHealth, which provides health insurance through its companies Group Health Incorporated (GHI) and HIP Health Plan of New York, has joined with Linkwell Health to make it easier for members to make healthier lifestyle choices. Linkwell Health, an innovative developer of health and wellness engagement programs, provides high-value offers for healthy lifestyle product discounts and practical lifestyle tips to EmblemHealth’s members, including those specific to certain chronic conditions.

“EmblemHealth offers a wide range of programs, educational materials and discounts for weight management plans to help our members be proactive about leading healthier lives,” said William A. Gillespie MD, Chief Medical Officer for EmblemHealth. “Linkwell Health’s program complements our own with discount coupons for healthy foods and health care products, and simple steps our members can take every day. We are pleased that we can help our members, particularly those with specific chronic conditions, to more easily manage their choices for healthier living.”

“EmblemHealth has a culture of supporting its members in making healthier lifestyle choices,” said Benjamin Gardner, President and founder of Linkwell Health. “We are pleased to partner with EmblemHealth to provide simple, affordable and convenient solutions to help its members fit better decisions into their busy lives.”

About EmblemHealth

EmblemHealth, Inc., through its companies Group Health Incorporated (GHI) and HIP Health Plan of New York (HIP), provides quality health care coverage and administrative services to approximately 2.9 million people. Groups and individuals can choose from a variety of PPO, EPO and HMO programs, as well as prescription drug, dental and vision plans. Plans offer a choice of networks, including access to over 103,000 quality doctors and other health care professionals and most of the leading hospitals across the tristate region. For more information, visit www.emblemhealth.com.

About Linkwell Health

Boston-based Linkwell Health (www.linkwellhealth.com) develops proven engagement programs to improve the health and wellness of Americans. The company links together health plans, better-for-you brands and retailers to encourage positive lifestyle change through simple approaches. Linkwell Health creates customized, turnkey incentive and guidance programs for health plans to distribute to their members. Targeted offers and online solutions make it easier and more affordable for members to choose healthier options.

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/linkwell-health-and-emblemhealth%c2%aeteam-up-to-offer-practical-health-and-wellness-program/feed/ 0 Nancy Zigerelli http://linkwellhealth.com/nancy-zigerelli/ http://linkwellhealth.com/nancy-zigerelli/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:09:08 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=621 Continue reading →]]> Nancy Zigerelli is a marketing and market research executive with over 30 years of experience, including 20 years with the Procter & Gamble Company and independent consulting at both large and start-up companies.  As Research Manager at P&G, Nancy pioneered numerous research advances and led the global rollout of these initiatives.  She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Management Science Institute, the Advertising Research Foundation, the Tomorrow Fund and the Conductive Learning Center, and consulted with the National Association of Manufacturers.

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/nancy-zigerelli/feed/ 0 Richard Thaler http://linkwellhealth.com/richard-thaler/ http://linkwellhealth.com/richard-thaler/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:02:21 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=612 Continue reading →]]> Widely regarded as the father of behavioral economics, Richard Thaler is the author of the New York Times best seller Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Thaler is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and the director of the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. He is also co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research project on behavioral economics. Thaler’s work has earned him a number of research grants, including ones from the U.S. Department of the Navy, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Prior to joining The University of Chicago faculty in 1995, he worked as a research economist for the Center of Naval Analyses in Arlington and taught courses at Cornell University, The University of British Columbia, the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences.

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/richard-thaler/feed/ 0 Behavioral Economist & Best-Selling Author Richard Thaler Joins Linkwell Health Board http://linkwellhealth.com/renowned-behavioral-economist-and-best-selling-author-richard-h-thaler-joins-linkwell-health-advisory-board/ http://linkwellhealth.com/renowned-behavioral-economist-and-best-selling-author-richard-h-thaler-joins-linkwell-health-advisory-board/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:37:21 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=600 Continue reading →]]> Richard H. Thaler, co-author of the New York Times business best seller Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, has joined Linkwell Health’s advisory board. Linkwell Health is a fast-growing developer of innovative health and wellness engagement and loyalty programs designed to help health plan members naturally integrate healthier habits into their everyday lives.

Thaler is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and the director of the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. He is also co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research project on behavioral economics.

“Linkwell Health’s business model is an interesting way to help promote change,” said Thaler. “I look forward to working with Linkwell Health to further strengthen its offering to help people make healthier lifestyle choices.”

“We are pleased to welcome Professor Thaler to our advisory board,” said Linkwell Health’s Gardner. “His expertise in behavioral decision-making as well as innovative, humanistic thinking, provides a rare combination of strengths that will help us continue to develop successful programs that support healthier living.”

About Linkwell Health

Boston-based Linkwell Health(www.linkwellhealth.com) develops proven engagement programs to improve the health and wellness of Americans. The company links together health plans, better-for-you brands and retailers to encourage positive lifestyle change through simple approaches. Linkwell Health creates customized, turnkey incentive and guidance programs for health plans to distribute to their members. Targeted mailings and online solutions make it easier and more affordable for members to choose healthier options.

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/renowned-behavioral-economist-and-best-selling-author-richard-h-thaler-joins-linkwell-health-advisory-board/feed/ 0 HealthPartners® and Linkwell Health Partner to Offer Practical Wellness Program http://linkwellhealth.com/healthpartners%c2%ae-and-linkwell-health-partner-to-bring-practical-wellness-program-to-plan-participants/ http://linkwellhealth.com/healthpartners%c2%ae-and-linkwell-health-partner-to-bring-practical-wellness-program-to-plan-participants/#comments Wed, 25 May 2011 20:13:06 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=585 Continue reading →]]> HealthPartners®, a Minnesota-based consumer-governed integrated health care system, partners with Linkwell Health, a fast-growing developer of innovative health and wellness engagement  programs, to make it easier for plan participants to live healthier lives.  Linkwell Health provides HealthPartners with quarterly high-value wellness offers for better-for-you products like whole-grain pasta, lifestyle product
discounts, and practical tips to help its members naturally integrate healthier habits into their lives.

HealthPartners recently distributed over 70,000 Linkwell Health wellness offers, providing targeted coupons, recipes and tips to members with diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It plans to distribute approximately 40,000 more to additional members next quarter.

“The beauty of Linkwell Health’s program is that we can tailor it to meet the broad needs of our members,” said Dr. Michael McGrail, HealthPartners Vice President and Associate Medical Director. “It provides us with a realistic approach to help our members stay on track by incorporating practical, doable changes into their everyday lives.

“HealthPartners’ goals are similar to ours – to provide easy, effective ways to lead healthier lives,” said Benjamin Gardner, President and founder of Linkwell Health. “We are pleased to provide one of the foremost U.S. health plans with a proven wellness approach that offers its members small steps that can lead to big results.”

About HealthPartners

Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of health care companies serves 1.36 million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. It is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation providing care, coverage, research and education to improve the health of members, patients and the community. HealthPartners is the top-ranked commercial health plan in Minnesota and is also ranked 19th in the nation according to NCQA’s Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2010-11.

About Linkwell Health

Boston-based Linkwell Health (www.linkwellhealth.com) develops proven engagement programs to improve the health and wellness of Americans. The company links together health plans, better-for-you brands and retailers to encourage positive lifestyle change through simple approaches. Linkwell Health creates customized, turnkey incentive and guidance programs for health plans to distribute to their members. Targeted mailings and online solutions make it easier and more affordable for members to choose healthier options.

 

 

 

]]> http://linkwellhealth.com/healthpartners%c2%ae-and-linkwell-health-partner-to-bring-practical-wellness-program-to-plan-participants/feed/ 0 Medical Mutual of Ohio Partners with Linkwell Health to Offer Can-Do Wellness Program http://linkwellhealth.com/medical-mutual-of-ohio-partners-with-linkwell-health-to-bring-can-do-wellness-program-to-its-members/ http://linkwellhealth.com/medical-mutual-of-ohio-partners-with-linkwell-health-to-bring-can-do-wellness-program-to-its-members/#comments Thu, 05 May 2011 20:44:48 +0000 linkwell http://linkwellhealth.com/?p=561 Continue reading →]]> Medical Mutual of Ohio, the oldest and largest Ohio-based health insurance company, has partnered with Linkwell Health, a fast-growing developer of innovative health and wellness engagement and loyalty programs, to make it easier for its members to live healthier lives. Linkwell Health provides Medical Mutual with quarterly high value wellness offers and simple-to-follow guidance to help its more than 64,000 members with certain chronic conditions naturally integrate healthier habits into their everyday lives.

Offers include discounts on better-for-you products from popular brands such as brown rice, whole-grain pastas, low-calorie desserts and egg whites. Members also receive lifestyle tips, including simple recipes and shopping suggestions, plus lifestyle product discounts for food scales, in-home blood pressure monitors and fitness programs. These customized mailings help members make taking the first step toward a healthier lifestyle both approachable and doable.

“Promoting healthier lifestyles is central to our mission,” said Paula Sauer, Medical Mutual’s Senior Vice President of Pharmacy and Care Management. “We believe that it’s important to not only promote the benefits of making healthier lifestyle changes but also provide a means for our members to do so. Linkwell Health makes it easy and cost-effective for our members to transform potentially unhealthy habits into healthier ones. We are excited to be working with Linkwell Health and our members toward positive change.”

“Medical Mutual has a heritage of supporting its members in making healthier lifestyle choices,” said Benjamin Gardner, president and founder of Linkwell Health. “We are pleased to be partnering with Medical Mutual to provide simple, proven, ‘can-do’ health and wellness solutions that make it easier for members to fit better choices into their busy lives. Who doesn’t go to the grocery store and debate over unhealthy food items? By providing high-value offers and realistic guidance, we help people resist temptation and we contribute to the decision of making better choices.”

About Linkwell Health

Founded in 2007, Boston-based Linkwell Health (www.linkwellhealth.com) develops proven engagement programs to improve the health and wellness of Americans. The company links together health plans, better-for-you brands and retailers to encourage positive lifestyle change through simple approaches. Linkwell Health creates customized, turnkey incentive and guidance programs for health plans to distribute to their members. Targeted mailings and online solutions make it easier and more affordable for members to choose healthier options.

About Medical Mutual of Ohio

Founded in 1934, Medical Mutual of Ohio, a mutual health insurer, is the oldest and largest health insurance company based in Ohio. For more than 75 years the company has served its customers through high-quality, affordable group and personal health insurance plans, and third-party administrative services to self-insured group customers. For more information, visit the company’s award-winning Web site at www.MedMutual.com.

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