Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Ups Wellness Ante With Healthy Blue Outcomes

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan launched a PPO-based wellness program that rewards documented better health rather than participation in healthy activities. In 2006, the Blue plan set the pace for wellness programs in the state with Blue Care Network's Healthy Blue Living program. But now, the plan has one-upped itself with a new, more aggressive version called Healthy Blue Outcomes.

According to the recent Michigan Health Plan Analysis, while the Blue plan isn't the first to demand better health metrics, it is one of the first in the nation to make them the sole criteria for richer benefits. As the state's largest health insurer, it signals a new standard that could be expected from all carriers.

"Blue Cross Blue Shield's underlying strategy behind Healthy Blue Outcomes is a sound one. It emphasizes primary prevention and effective management of medical conditions while rewarding those members who take accountability for their health status," said HealthLeaders-InterStudy Analyst Rick Byrne. "Michigan employers have been early adopters of innovative plan designs, so there's every reason to believe -- given how the state's poor economy has focused employers' attention on costs -- this more aggressive approach to wellness will spread."

Other topics highlighted in the recent Michigan Health Plan Analysis include:

• The passage of healthcare reform creates coverage expansions, a new high-risk pool, funding for early retiree reinsurance and new requirements for managed care organizations' medical loss ratios.
• Michigan insurers and some pharmacy benefit managers have leveled the playing field between retail pharmacies and mail-order drug delivery, and are insisting on pharmacy benefit management transparency.

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SOURCE HealthLeaders-InterStudy