Novu And Gorman Health Group Announce Partnership To Enhance Member Engagement In Government-Sponsored Health Programs

MINNEAPOLIS, March 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Novu, an innovative consumer health and technology services firm, announced today its partnership with Gorman Health Group (GHG), the leading solutions provider and consulting firm for government-sponsored health programs. Through the partnership, GHG will integrate Novu's consumer health engagement and rewards technology platform into its current offerings and client base to enhance the relationship between payers and consumers, boost member engagement and empower members to take a more active role in their daily health routines.

Together, GHG and Novu expect to increase member engagement particularly for those enrolled in Medicare Advantage and health plans participating in the Affordable Care Act exchanges.  Novu's online platform offers innovative engagement services that will help people nationwide live healthier lives, close gaps in care and enhance the relationships between the member and provider organizations.

"We see the Novu solution as highly complementary to our already strong offerings in serving Medicare Advantage client companies," said John Gorman, founder and executive chairman at GHG. "Member-centric solutions are critical to improving quality ratings and member satisfaction. The Novu team is experienced in consumer loyalty, rewards programs and value-based gaming and has integrated all three areas into an online platform proven to enhance member engagement and help beneficiaries live healthier lives."

"Medicare's Star Rating System is a game-changer in elevating quality improvement and the member experience. Identification, engagement, outcomes and member opinions are what matters now," explained Gorman. "The Novu platform offers tailored engagement features that connect with seniors, foster an ongoing member relationship, encourage prevention, and deliver powerful data for decision support."

Novu is a comprehensive online platform that integrates rich health and wellness content and activities with personalization, engagement, community, gamification and rewards in a single product platform – a combination that has proven to help individuals take charge of their health and make lifestyle improvements across all age spectrums.  With less than 20 percent of all seniors participating in critical screening events such as blood pressure, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer and heart screenings, GHG and Novu believe their combined efforts can drive substantial improvements in getting members to accomplish these and other important goals.

The current Novu programs cover diverse areas of focus, including: nutrition, strength, cardio, stress management, life purpose, and recently launched, smoking cessation.  People use Novu to take charge of their health by setting personal goals, monitoring their progress against those goals, learning about health and wellness, competing in challenges with online communities, altering their lifestyles and being rewarded for achieving. 

"We are thrilled about our new relationship with GHG," said Tom Wicka, CEO and co-founder of Novu. "This partnership will connect us to a range of new client companies, but even more exciting is the validation of the Novu platform and our tailored engagement services by one of the leading experts in the marketplace.  We know the Novu online platform can enhance the lives of Medicare Advantage members and we are eager to bring this proven solution to a broader market with our new partner, GHG."

Novu: Proven to Help People Make Healthy Choices
Novu recently completed a year-long study with thousands of participants that completed nearly 19,000 personalized Novu health and wellness programs focused on nutrition, strength and cardio.  The study's aim was to assess if Novu's unique approach combining tailored engagement, community, gamification and rewards helped individuals set and achieve goals and led them to positive changes to improve overall health.

During the study the top 25 percent of active members:

• Averaged almost six visits per week – nearly daily usage.
• Participated in at least two programs.
• Completed an average of nine challenges during a three-month period.
• Accumulated more than 13 million reward points collectively.

A key finding revealed that frequent usage of Novu is a critical factor in its success to drive real personal lifestyle changes to enhance individual health.

Novu also conducted a recent survey of the study participants and found:

• 93 percent of those using the nutritional programs indicated that their primary goal was either to lose weight or to improve nutritional habits.
• More than 80 percent of those surveyed indicated that they believe Novu nutrition and fitness-related programs helped them reach their personal health goals.
• Nearly 70 percent saw their Body Mass Index (BMI) decrease more than seven percent.

About Novu
Novu is a Minneapolis-based innovative health technology services company with the sole purpose of breaking down the barriers to wellness and enabling everybody to lead and live a healthy lifestyle. 

The company has created its personalized health technology and services platform, also called Novu, which is a comprehensive online tool where people can take charge of their health by setting goals, monitoring their progress, altering their lifestyles, learning about health and wellness, engaging with online communities in challenges and competitions and getting rewarded for achieving milestones. The technology and services platform is integrated with customized engagement solutions that Novu creates specifically for each new client organization and its community's unique needs.  Weekly challenges add a fun gamification element. Novu members can find peers to engage with and compete against online. Rewards come in the form of points, which can be redeemed for discount offers, charitable donations and a chance to win popular electronics and trips in weekly raffles.

Novu is committed to building the world's largest and most engaged wellness community and to prove that "healthy is good for everyone."  The team firmly believes that when people live healthier, everyone benefits:  insurers, healthcare providers, employers, employees, individuals, families and entire communities.  Novu markets and sells its unique consumer health engagement and rewards platform primarily to health insurance companies, corporate employers and health services organizations.  Insurance companies are eager to help their members achieve wellness and to also reap the benefits of insured members' enhanced health with reduced claims.  Corporate employers offer Novu as a Corporate Wellness Program to drive enhanced health among their employee bases, and thus enjoy increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.  Health service providers integrate Novu into their service offering to better serve the patient community with the tools and services to treat various medical conditions, enhance patient care and overall health. For more information please visit www.novu.com.

About Gorman Health Group
Gorman Health Group is a national health care professional services and software company staffed by subject matter experts, former health plan executives, and seasoned regulators. For nearly 20 years, hundreds of clients serving millions of beneficiaries have leveraged the strategic counsel and technology solutions of GHG to maintain compliant operations, improve market position, and advance growth objectives. GHG's solutions continually evolve to meet the needs of our clients. Learn more at www.gormanhealthgroup.com.

Media: Mardi Larson, 612.928.0202 or [email protected]

SOURCE Novu LLC