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Program Designed to Increase Engagement, Improve Care and Reduce Costs ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth) announced that it has rolled out an innovative solution that couples its disease management (DM) program with a value-based insurance design (VBID) incentive. When individuals with chronic conditions engage in disease management nurse coaching, they are eligible for reduced co-payments on their medications. The new program, currently in place at a large, national employer, is designed to improve clinical outcomes by encouraging targeted individuals to participate in nurse coaching and removing a financial barrier to medication compliance.

ActiveHealth's patented technology, CareEngine® System, powers Active Disease ManagementSM and ActiveHealth's VBID program, which is known as Active Benefit DesignSM. CareEngine creates a personal health profile for each individual using claims and other data, and compares the profile to the evidence-based literature. As part of this process, CareEngine identifies the individuals whose clinical profile indicates they could most benefit from disease management nurse coaching, as well as the individuals who would most benefit from a medication included in the incentive program. Program medications were selected based on the large body of evidence-based medical literature documenting their cost effectiveness in the treatment of common chronic conditions.

"ActiveHealth's integrated program is a logical extension of the work we have been doing to both improve clinical outcomes and control costs for individuals with chronic conditions. By utilizing CareEngine to identify the appropriate individuals and then selectively reducing copays, we can incentivize individuals to take advantage of our disease management nurse coaching, which has been proven to reduce healthcare costs, and incentivize them to be compliant with their medications, which are potentially life-saving." explains Greg Steinberg, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of ActiveHealth.

Individuals identified for the DM-VBID integrated program receive personalized communications from CareEngine:

• Individuals taking the medication, but not yet engaged in nurse coaching, receive a communication encouraging them to engage in nurse coaching and obtain the discount.
• Individuals not taking the medication receive a communication about the importance of the medication and the discount if they engage with a nurse. Their physicians also receive a communication.

If CareEngine identifies a contraindication for a medication, it alerts the prescribing physician and patient to the potential danger involved.

A study published in Health Affairs by researchers from ActiveHealth, Harvard Medical School and the University of Michigan showed that lowering co-pays for a certain class of drugs improves medication compliance for those drugs. This study demonstrated that ActiveHealth's VBID incentive can be effective in increasing compliance with important medications and can complement ActiveHealth's disease management program.

About ActiveHealth Management

ActiveHealth Management is a leading provider of health management services, including disease management, clinical decision support and personal health records. The company's solutions, all based on its patented CareEngine® System, help individuals receive quality care and help organizations like health plans, employers and government payors reduce medical costs. More than 19 million people nationwide benefit from ActiveHealth programs. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in New York City, ActiveHealth is an independent subsidiary of Aetna (NYSE: AET). For more information, visit http://www.activehealth.net.

Source: ActiveHealth Management