EmblemHealth Earns Silver in Healthyroads "Fit Company" Employer Wellness Awards

NEW YORK, June 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- EmblemHealth, the New York-based health insurer and wellness company, has been named a silver award winner in the fourth annual Healthyroads Fit Company Awards^® program. The awards recognize organizations nationwide that demonstrate their commitment to improving the overall health and fitness of their employees by offering exceptional employee wellness programs and benefits.

EmblemHealth's incentive program — myHealthPATH — is centered around the company's core promise to help its employees stay healthy, get well and live better. The wellness program is championed by senior leaders, who have worked to inspire and encourage more than 50 percent of its 4,458 employees to participate in at least one wellness offering.

A points-based program, myHealthPATH rewards employees for participating in a variety of wellness activities. To start, all employees are encouraged to complete an online Personal Health Assessment (PHA). They then receive individual action plans that are targeted to the health areas that need improvement. Employees can receive points for meeting specific biometric values for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides and blood glucose. Employees also earn points and rewards for participating in a variety of wellness activities such as free telephone health coaching, the tobacco cessation program for employees who are trying to quit smoking, annual wellness visits and semi-annual dental visits.

The rewards for participation are significant. In 2013, the company awarded almost $300,000 to 569 employees who met points and biometric goals.

To keep employees excited, engaged, healthy and active, myHealthPATH offers on-site Executive Leader-led walks, neighborhood walking maps, a corporate fitness center, subsidies and discounts for gym memberships, on-site flu and pneumonia vaccinations and mammography screenings and training programs for charitable runs.

"We're honored to be recognized nationally for our commitment to employee health and wellness," said Karen Smith-Hagman, Vice President, Medical Management. "The greater reward, though, is the renewed commitment by our employees to keep themselves and their community healthier. We're very inspired by the changes we've seen."

EmblemHealth's wellness program is made available through Healthyroads, Inc., a subsidiary of American Specialty Health  Incorporated (ASH), one of the nation's leading providers of employer population health programs.

"We congratulate EmblemHealth for the great strides they are making in employee health improvement," said American Specialty Health CEO and Chairman George DeVries. "As a health insurer, they know first-hand how important it is to keep populations actively working toward better health habits and reduced health risks."

The Healthyroads Fit Company Award winners were selected based on their commitment to best practices in worksite wellness, unique or creative ideas that encourage a culture of health at the workplace, clarity and consistency of employee health promotion and communications, and employee participation and engagement levels in wellness initiatives. Judges included leading wellness experts from ASH and top-ranked organizations outside of ASH.

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 3.4 million people. Groups and individuals can choose from a variety of PPO, EPO and HMO plans, as well as coverage for prescription drugs and dental and vision care. EmblemHealth offers a choice of networks, including quality doctors and other health care professionals throughout the region, leading acute care hospitals across the tri-state area, and physicians and hospitals across all 50 states. For more information, visit www.emblemhealth.com. To connect with EmblemHealth via Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/EmblemHealth.

About Healthyroads, Inc.
Healthyroads, Inc., a subsidiary of American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH), offers a wide range of population health solutions, including: the award-winning Healthyroads^® telephone-based lifestyle and health coaching programs, member engagement promotions, program management, health risk assessments, biometric screenings, claims analytics, risk stratification, incentive management plans, competitive group challenges, worksite wellness programs and/or an integrated online wellness portal, Healthyroads.com. Healthyroads serves nearly 5.5 million members nationally. For more information, visit http://www.ashcompanies.com/ or call 800-848-3555. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Healthyroads, YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/healthyroads, Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/healthyroads, Twitter at @Healthyroads and Instagram at @Healthyroads.

SOURCE EmblemHealth