At HealthPartners, we take special care of our members – even before they arrive! Our Healthy Pregnancy program helps ensure a healthy pregnancy for members who are pregnant or who are planning a pregnancy.

When expectant mothers live a healthy lifestyle, they improve their chances of delivering a healthy baby. While there’s never a guarantee that a baby will be perfectly healthy, certain behaviors can help a baby have the best chance at a healthy start. Plus, early identification of potential risks can be critical to a healthy delivery and a healthy baby.

With HealthPartners Healthy Pregnancy program, members who are planning a pregnancy have access to a health assessment tailored to their needs, as well as 10 e-mails about preparing for pregnancy.

Members who are currently pregnant receive:

• An online, confidential pregnancy health assessment that identifies any risks for a difficult pregnancy
• Twenty, bi-weekly e-mail newsletters tailored to their specific stage of pregnancy
• Personalized phone coaching from a registered nurse if an employee is identified as at-risk for a difficult pregnancy

The Healthy Pregnancy program has been included for fully insured groups since January 1, 2008 and is available for purchase by self-insured groups. In addition, both fully insured and self-insured groups may add an incentive strategy and a customizable communications toolkit to the Healthy Pregnancy program for an additional fee.

To learn more please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive.

HealthPartners is always exploring ways to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of our programs – this includes developing strategic partnerships to use the expertise of other companies to improve service, effectively control costs and improve outcomes.

After careful review, HealthPartners will be changing our specialty pharmacy vendor from CuraScript to SpecialtyScripts Pharmacy on October 1, 2008. Founded in 2002, SpecialtyScripts Pharmacy — a business of Cardinal Health — will manage the service and delivery of most specialty medications on behalf of HealthPartners.

SpecialtyScripts Pharmacy is a specialty pharmacy dedicated to the delivery of extraordinary patient care while providing a fast, reliable and convenient way to deliver specialty medications at a reduced overall cost. Both HealthPartners and SpecialtyScripts will be reaching out to members to ensure they are able to continue to receive their prescriptions uninterrupted.

To learn more please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive.

Marcus Thygeson, M.D., vice president and associate medical director of consumer health solutions, is one of nine Minnesota physicians to be selected for the prestigious 2008 Bush Medical Fellows Program.

Only 13 fellowships are awarded annually for physicians to pursue work, which addresses the healthcare needs of their communities. Dr. Thygeson will be focusing on the issue of affordability in healthcare management and policy, and will work with leaders throughout the industry.

“This is important recognition of Dr. Thygeson’s leadership in the Minnesota medical community,” said Andrea Walsh, HealthPartners executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “This fellowship provides an exciting opportunity for Dr. Thygeson to work with national healthcare leaders and study ways to improve healthcare through science, engineering systems, and business processes.”

Learn more about the Bush Foundation Medical Fellows Program.

Have you recently lost weight and want to keep it off? We can help! Brokers are invited to participate in the HealthPartners Research Foundation’s weight loss maintenance study, Keep It Off. The study is open to anyone who has lost 10 percent of their body weight in the last year, for example, 20 pounds if you originally weighed 200.

According to the CDC, the prevalence of obesity in America has risen from 15 percent to 32.9 percent since the mid-seventies. People from racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by this obesity epidemic. Being obese or overweight greatly increases the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other health risks. Even losing moderate amounts of weight can help prevent these health conditions. The Keep It Off study will be testing two different programs for helping adults who have lost weight to keep it off over the long term, which will help reduce the chances of developing these health conditions in the future.

“Though many people lose weight quite successfully, research shows that people typically regain most of the weight lost within two years” said Nancy Sherwood, PhD, the study’s principal investigator. “This study seeks to identify the most successful methods to help people maintain the weight they have lost so they can continue to improve their health.”

The HealthPartners Research Foundation received a $1.75 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct the study.

For more information, e-mail keepitoff@healthpartners.com or call 952-967-6760.

Our Dental Distinctions^SM product is priced to move in the seven-county metro area and St. Cloud! Since this product is a best fit for the seven-county metro and St. Could service areas, we are now offering the Distinctions shelf product only to employers headquartered in those areas. 

The tiering of Distinctions offers member the lowest out-of-pocket costs in Benefit level 1, which features providers in the seven-county and St. Cloud areas. Offering this product outside of that area is likely to cause dissatisfaction among members and could lead to poor product performance, which ultimately results in higher new business rates.  If you have a group located outside that service area that is interested in the Distinctions product, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Representative for approval. 

Learn more about Dental Distinctions.

Our Frequent Fitness program continues to grow. Members now have even more choices and chances to save money while achieving a healthy lifestyle.  Now, members who enroll or are enrolled in the Frequent Fitness program will have access to more than 750 locations in HealthPartners service region.

The Frequent Fitness program offers fully insured members (two per household) up to a $20 reimbursement for working out 12 times a month.

New locations as of July 1 included:

1.  Fitness Crossroad – St. Anthony 
2.  Jo's Gym – Belle Plaine 
3.  Houston Fitness Center – Houston
4.  Victory Fitness – Oak Park Heights 

Learn more about Frequent Fitness.

As our client base and membership continues to expand, so does our network. In fact, we’ve recently added a large number of providers. We’re committed to providing access to the providers your clients demand – nationwide. No matter where your clients live, work or travel, we’ve got them covered. Recent additions include:

Medical – Minnesota
Bigfork Valley Clinic – Bovey
Bigfork Valley Clinic – Coleraine
Bigfork Valley Clinic – Marcell
Cromwell Medical Clinic – Cromwell
Griffin Medical Center – Blue Earth
Little Canada Medical Clinic –Little Canada
MeritCare 1219 – Detroit Lakes
Warren H. Luedtke, MD – Sartell
Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center – Jackson

Medical – South Dakota
Aberdeen Pediatrics – Aberdeen
Avera Gutnik and Associates – Sioux Falls
Marshall County Clinic/Avera Health – Britton

Try out our new search function to see just how easy it is to find a network provider quickly and simply. Provider Search.

Important Contacts
Our Group Medical Plans
Our Group Dental Plans
Our Individual and Medicare Plans
Our Achieve ^SM Health Improvement Programs
Our CareSpan ^SM Disease Management Programs
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