HealthPartners® and Linkwell Health Partner to Bring Practical Wellness Program to Plan Participants

NEEDHAM, Mass., May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.

Contact:  Jeff Shelman, [email protected], (952) 883-6198

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.

Contact:  Mona Wetter Dolgov, [email protected], (781) 474-5603

SOURCE Linkwell Health