The Vitality Institute Convenes Commission of Thought Leaders to Drive U.S. Health Care Policy

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In keeping with its mission to share best practices and evidence-based solutions to improve health, The Vitality Institute, a global health think tank focused on reducing chronic disease risk, will convene its Commission at The New York Academy of Sciences on September 19. The Forum will examine the latest technologies and innovations to reduce risk associated with chronic disease as a result of poor diet, inactivity, tobacco use, poor adherence to medications and stress.

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Led by newly appointed Commission Chair William B. Rosenzweig, managing partner at Physic Ventures, LP, The Vitality Institute Commission comprises prominent thinkers in health and business. Commissioners include Susan Dentzer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Ginny Ehrlich, Clinton Health Matters Initiative; Jeff Levi, Trust for America's Health; Ellis Rubinstein, the New York Academy of Sciences; Dennis Schmuland, Microsoft; and Kevin Volpp, the University of Pennsylvania.

"We're focused on the urgent goal of getting evidence-based prevention at the center of health care policies and actions in the U.S.," said Rosenzweig. "In making available better evidence, influencing smarter laws and promoting higher levels of innovation, we believe we can amplify the many voices advocating for health and prevention in a way that will make a difference in improving U.S. health."

The Vitality Institute was founded to advance knowledge, evidence, and understanding about the evolving science and art of health promotion and prevention in order to build healthier societies. The Institute Commissioners have been tasked to identify, test and define pathways to scale for a wide range of innovative ideas, products, services, as well as business and partnership models that will invigorate the imperative of health prevention and promotion. Its ultimate goal is to galvanize action to achieve a healthy public policy.

"There is strength in numbers," said Derek Yach, SVP, The Vitality Group and Executive Director of the Vitality Institute. "By working with corporations, associations, federal, state, and local government to identify multi-stakeholder solutions we hope to address the issues facing our nation's health in bold and transformative ways."

For more information on the Forum, please contact Gillian Christie. For information about The Vitality Institute, visit www.thevitalityinstitute.org. To join the conversation on Twitter, follow The Vitality Institute @VitalityInst.

About Discovery
Discovery (JSE: DSY) is an authorized financial services provider. Discovery operates in the health care and life insurance markets in South Africa, the United Kingdom and China, as well as the long-term savings and investment market, and short-term insurance market in South Africa. Vitality, Discovery's wellness program, is the world's largest scientific, incentive-based wellness solution. It provides individual and corporate wellness initiatives in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and China. Discovery has demonstrated the ability to improve health and reduce costs in South Africa for over 14 years. The global Vitality membership base now exceeds five million lives. The company's core purpose is to make people healthier, and to enhance and protect their lives.

About Vitality
The Vitality Group is a member of Discovery Ltd., offering the incentive-based wellness program to employers as part of their benefits program. With a foundation based on actuarial science and behavioral economic theory, Vitality encourages changes in lifestyle that reduce health care costs, both in the short run and long term, by rewarding members for addressing their specific health issues. Vitality wellness programs serve companies in a wide range of sizes and industries, improving individuals' health and wellbeing as well as employers' bottom lines.

Vitality is also offered through HumanaVitality, LLC, a joint venture between Humana Inc. and Discovery Ltd. A solution for midsized employers is also available through ADP Vitality.

SOURCE The Vitality Institute