Healthy babies are worth the wait

As part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the March of Dimes, UnitedHealthcare is a proud partner of the campaign to educate the public about the importance of the last few weeks of pregnancy titled, “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait.”  While some women may need to have their babies early for medical reasons, physicians and families schedule far too many births before the full gestation period of 40 weeks for non-medical reasons. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) classifies a baby as “full term” at 37 weeks, but advises against elective deliveries before 39 weeks.  A UnitedHealthcare study, which surveyed 650 insured, first-time mothers from various geographic, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, found that more than 90% of respondents thought that it was safe to deliver a baby before 39 weeks.

But those last weeks of pregnancy count.  In the last few weeks, babies are still developing important body functions, and babies born before 39 weeks are at increased risk of complications such as respiratory distress, jaundice, infection, low blood sugar, extra days in the hospital and even death.

The March of Dimes wants babies to get at least 39 weeks of gestation. For pregnant women, the March of Dimes offers information on why it is important for labor to begin on its own and not to schedule delivery by convenience.  It also encourages health care professionals to participate in quality improvement initiatives aimed at eliminating early elective deliveries.

“Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait” is an important component of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, a nationwide effort to address the growing problem of premature birth, the leading cause of newborn death and a major cause of serious health problems. Premature births cost society billions of dollars every year. 

As an expansion of the “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait Campaign, the March of Dimes has created the “CineMama” iPhone app.  Women can create a time-lapse video of their pregnancy – and get health tips along the way – through this free interactive app.    Time-lapse pregnancy slideshows and videos are a trend among expectant parents as a way of creating a digital keepsake of their pregnancy to share with loved ones. 

“CineMama” allows expecting moms to take and upload their photos to the web, easily turn the still pictures into video, and share it all through social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.  “CineMama” will prompt women to record the ups and downs of their pregnancy, as well as important milestones in a diary that can be easily shared.

You can find more information at marchofdimes.com/39 weeks here or by calling 610-945-6050. You should also check with your insurance company. UnitedHealthcare has a Healthy Pregnancy program that connects our members who are expectant mothers with the care and education they need. The program is at no additional cost to the member and provides 24-hour* toll-free access to experienced maternity nurses and other resources.

Day of service trumps day-off

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anyone can serve and everyone should serve.  So when thousands of volunteers, including twenty-two UnitedHealthcare employees, family and friends showed up to participate in the 19th annual Martin Luther King Day of Service hosted by Girard College in Philadelphia, I was extremely pleased. 

Many activities for this year’s Day of Service were designed to pay tribute to the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, the decision that barred racial segregation in public schools.  So it seemed appropriated that UnitedHealthcare’s service activity took place at the Martha Washington elementary school in west Philadelphia where the UHC team took on the task changing the color of the schools lunchroom from a drab light blue to a vibrant yellow. 

For the last several years, the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service has been the largest event in the country celebrating Dr. King by doing good works. UnitedHealthcare has been a part of the day’s activities for the past ten years. In fact, this year, we helped with a total of 1,700 King Day projects throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. 

UnitedHealthcare’s mission to help people live healthier lives can be seen in all aspects of our organization.  But I am especially proud of our employees who turned their day-off into a day of service.

Thank you UnitedHealthcare team! 

Getting to Know You

At UnitedHealthcare, we spend a good deal of time listening to and connecting with our customers because we want to deliver integrated product offerings when, where and how our customers want to be reached.  So it makes perfect sense to us (although I get many confused looks when I tell others) that we should kick off the year at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas this week.

In addition to showcasing myEasyBook, an online healthcare shopping service, UnitedHealthcare representatives at the electronics show are demonstrating how our health benefits, services and technologies help to simplify the consumer health care experience by making helpful, practical information more accessible and affordable through personal technology devices such as smart phones, video game consoles and television programming.

CES attendees who visit the UnitedHealthcare booth can interact with a wide range of innovative health tools, including:

Virtual Diabetes Prevention Program: The NOT ME Virtual Diabetes Prevention Program (VDPP) is the online version of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), an evidence-based group lifestyle change program that helps people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes prevent or delay the disease through modest weight loss via healthy eating, increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes. The VDPP was recently named an International CES Innovations 2014 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree in the “Technology for a Better World” category.

DanceDanceRevolution Classroom Edition: A collaboration with Konami is bringing DanceDanceRevolution (DDR) Classroom Edition, to another school. Konami is the wildly popular dance game that has shown to encourage physical activity among adults and children. The participating school will use the game to track its impact on students’ health, well-being and exercise habits. The collaboration last year brought DDR Classroom Edition to schools in Longwood, Fla.; Gainesville, Ga.; and Fresno, Texas.

Renew (formerly NOVU): Renew inspires and rewards UnitedHealthcare plan participants for taking care of their health and wellness by giving them points toward healthy products, raffles and local deals.

WellView: WellView automatically aggregates disparate data including electronic medical records from physicians, personal health records, health care expenses, health plan balances and more, all in one place. WellView also offers helpful tools such as online appointment scheduling, provider search and a symptom checker to help improve the experience for consumers and get them to the right resource sooner.

UnitedHealthcare’s technology and innovative collaborations showcased at CES make it easier and more fun for people to become active participants in managing their health.  And it’s a pretty good way for consumers to get to know more about us.

Happy New Year!

Pennsylvania is 29th healthiest state

We often hear bad news about health: rising rates of obesity, rising rates of diabetes, rising rates of heart disease, and much more.

But what about the good news?  Are any of the current health initiatives that aim to improve the health of Americans working?  Are there any areas of health that need more attention? Let's take a look.

This week, the United Health Foundation in conjunction with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention published their 2013 health report, titled America’s Health Rankings^®: A Call to Action for Individuals & Their Communities.

This year’s study found that the nation as a whole is making considerable progress in their overall health. The most notable gains came in key behavioral measures, including smoking, physical activity and obesity.  Overall, Hawaii is the healthiest state, while Mississippi ranked 50th.

As it has for the past two decades, Pennsylvania came in just below the average among all states, ranking 29th this year with several strengths and challenges.

Pennsylvania’s Strengths

• Pennsylvania has a high rate of high school graduation with 84.1 percent of incoming ninth graders graduating from high school.  Higher levels of education are associated with better health. For example, 55 percent of adult Pennsylvanians aged 55 years and older with at least a high school education report that their health is very good or excellent compared to only 27.5 percent with less than a high school education.
• In the past year, physical inactivity decreased from 26.2 percent to 23.4 percent of adults, although 2.3 million Pennsylvanians are still inactive.
• Immunization coverage among adolescents increased in the past year from 68.6 percent to 74.1 percent of persons aged 13 to 17 years.  Pennsylvania’s immunization rate of adolescents is among the highest in the nation, ranking third among the states.
• The number of smokers decreased nearly 5 percent in the past year.  More than 21.4 percent of adults in Pennsylvania are still smokers, however.

Pennsylvania’s Challenges

• While the average obesity rate nationwide held steady at 27.6 percent in the last year, obesity in Pennsylvania increased from 28.6 percent to 29.1 percent of adults in one year.
• Pennsylvania has one of the highest levels of pollution of any state and is ranked 47th for air quality.
• More than 15 out of every 100,000 Pennsylvanians die from drug-related causes, the 38th worst rate of drug deaths in the nation.

This report is important to Pennsylvania in that it shows how the state and the people who work in health care within the state are working collaboratively to help people across the Commonwealth live healthier lives.

To see the Rankings in full, please visit: www.americashealthrankings.org. 

Thanksgiving started with a trot

Even in the cold weather, what better way to start off Thanksgiving morning than with a little outdoor exercise before the feast?

While this may not be your idea of fun, this is exactly what some UnitedHealthcare employees and their families did.  They joined more than 7,000 people who participated in the 23rd Annual YMCA Turkey Trot in downtown Pittsburgh.  The YMCA Turkey Trot included 5-mile and 5K races and a 1-mile fun run. 

UnitedHealthcare employees and their families got together for a photo with Y of Greater Pittsburgh CEO Rig Riggins (second from right) and Senior Vice President of Development Carolyn Grady (far right) before the YMCA Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day

The race benefitted the Y of Greater Pittsburgh’s urban branches. The funds help to ensure that all members of the community can participate in Y programs, regardless of income.  The Y also collected nonperishable food items in its 1,000 pound challenge to support its food bank at its branch in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Turkey trots are about more than just burning off a few extra calories to offset the extra helpings of turkey, stuffing and pie.  They are also an excellent reminder to all of us to be thankful for what we have, including our health.

During the holiday season, it’s easy to get carried away by the endless list of things that we need to do. Between the shopping, decorating, cooking and cleaning, plus the holiday parties and family gatherings, it’s easy to put health on the back burner.

But I urge everyone to make health a priority this holiday season.

Taking the time from our busy schedules to cook a healthy meal and get some exercise can provide tremendous physical and mental benefits.  Not only does a regular routine of exercise and good nutrition prevent holiday weight gain, but it also contributes to good mental health.  Many studies have shown that exercise can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, which many people experience during the holiday season.

I’m not suggesting that anyone forego making cookies with the family this year or skip out on holiday parties.  But perhaps instead of watching the football game on TV, it might be a good time to start a tradition of playing a game in the backyard or the park. And making sure that piece of pie is balanced with plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way toward feeling physically and mentally better this holiday season. 

I hope all of my readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and are beginning a happy and healthy holiday season!

The latest and greatest in health care innovations

“The health care system is just so complicated.”

I’ve been hearing that complaint a lot these days, and I admit that I agree.  Part of improving the health of our nation involves making the health care system simpler to understand.

That’s why UnitedHealthcare is constantly at work on new innovations that simplify the health care experience.  For example, our “Health Information Chauffer” program helps schools keep track of children’s medical records.  Instead of keeping children’s important medical information stored in a file cabinet or putting the burden on the school nurse, the “chauffer” program keeps a digital record of children’s medical information.  Parents enter their children’s information only one time, and then update as needed.  The method allows for improved medication tracking and dispensing and better monitoring of chronic conditions such as allergies, asthma and diabetes.

Part of a partnership between UnitedHealthcare and Force for Health Foundation, the pilot program is taking place for the first time in a Pennsylvania school district.

We are also testing a new flexible health insurance product called Wrks4Me that aims to bring simplicity, flexibility and affordability to employers and employees at large corporations.

Wrks4Me helps employees choose from multiple health plans to find the one that best fits the needs of their families.  The Wrks4Me website portal allows employees to see the benefit choices available to them, use decision tools to help them understand the option that fits their financial and health situation, and enroll online.  This also helps employers cut down on the cost and administrative tasks associated with health plan administration.

The pilot program is currently being tested by a few large employers, but we expect positive returns for both employees and employers.

While these programs are still in early stages of testing and development, they are great examples of some of the most innovative ideas to help simplify our health care system.

For more on the latest UnitedHealthcare innovations, check out our innovation news.

When it comes to health insurance, what’s essential?

New laws, and new benefits.  From the elimination of catastrophic health plans to the introduction of metallic health plans, changes in health care are one of the hottest topics of discussion in the news lately.  So, what’s essential?

Individual and small group health plans are required under the Affordable Care Act to offer a minimum set of health services called “essential health benefits,” beginning in 2014.  People who have plans that do not meet these minimum standards may receive a notice that their plan is being replaced by one that includes additional mandatory benefits. 

Although the rule does not apply to all health plans, most individual and small group plans must now offer coverage for all of the following 10 essential health benefit categories:

• Ambulatory patient services
•  Emergency services
• Hospitalization
• Laboratory services
• Maternity and newborn care
• Mental health and substance abuse services
• Prescription drugs
• Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
• Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
• Pediatric services, including oral and vision

While the federal government has determined the broad categories that must be covered, each state determines the specific services that are covered under each category.  Each state has selected a “benchmark” health plan to define the specific services that must be included in the state’s essential health benefits package.

Many health plans have not traditionally included the services that are now required by the federal and state governments, such as pediatric oral and vision care.  For 2014, insurers must redesign such plans to cover all required services.  An insurer may also end plans that don’t meet the requirements and offer an alternative plan that does.

For more information about essential health benefits, click here to view an overview of essential health benefits, frequently asked questions or “FAQs,” and more.