Virgin HealthMiles Webinar to Examine Why Prevention Is Key to Combating Rising Health Care Costs


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - October 29, 2009) - Virgin HealthMiles, a leading provider of employee health and productivity programs that reward individuals for getting healthy, today announced it will host "Good health means good business: Why prevention is key to combating rising health care costs" on November 4, 2009 at 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST. The free, live webinar will offer human resource and business leaders best practices and advice on how a prevention-based strategy can help to tackle rising corporate health care costs.

Sean Forbes, president of Virgin HealthMiles, will discuss the company's Pay-for-Prevention™ approach which has engaged employees nationwide and helped companies improve workforce health to drive down lifestyle-related health care costs. He will be joined by Tracy Allen, benefits manager at Rush-Copley Medical Center, who will provide insight on how this approach is improving the health of Rush-Copley's workforce.

Three-quarters of U.S. health care costs are driven by preventable, lifestyle-related conditions (e.g., obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, etc.). Forbes and Allen will discuss how creating a culture of prevention and rewarding employees for making measureable, long-term healthy lifestyle choices aligns the interests of both employers and employees in lowering health care costs. Attendees will learn about Pay-for-Prevention and how it differs from traditional approaches, the role of personal responsibility in health care, how to align incentives with measurable behavior changes, and hear first-hand experience from Rush-Copley Medical Center.

To register for the live webinar, please visit: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/643489003

A recording of the webinar will be available free of charge following the event on the Virgin HealthMiles Web site (www.virginhealthmiles.com).

About Virgin HealthMiles

Virgin HealthMiles (www.virginhealthmiles.com) provides employee health programs that pay people to get active. The company's Pay-for-Prevention™ approach, based on physical activity and healthy lifestyle change, attracts an average of 40% of employees who participate, which helps organizations reduce medical costs and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. Over 120 industry leaders, including American Diabetes Association, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Hospital Corporation of America-Shared Services, Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, and SunGard have selected Virgin HealthMiles' award-winning program for their employees. For more information, visit www.virginhealthmiles.com.

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