Aetna Named a ''Best Employer for Healthy Lifestyles;'' National Business Group on Health honors Aetna with ''Gold Award''.WASHINGTON -- Aetna (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AET AET Aetna, Inc. AET After Extra Time AET Actual Evapotranspiration AET Alliance for Environmental Technology AET Alpha-Ethyltryptamine AET Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. ) today was honored by the National Business Group on Health as a recipient of its "Gold Award" in the inaugural Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards program. The awards were given to 22 employers nationwide who demonstrated innovative efforts in battling obesity obesity, condition resulting from excessive storage of fat in the body. Obesity has been defined as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal according to standard age, height, and weight tables, or by a complex formula known as the body mass index. and promoting a healthy work environment. "We are very pleased to honor Aetna for achieving these high standards and successfully implementing a lifestyle improvement program designed to reduce obesity and encourage healthier living for their employees," said Helen Darling Helen Marie Darling (born on August 29, 1978) is a Women's National Basketball Association player for the San Antonio Silver Stars, which selected her in the 2007 WNBA Dispersal Draft from the roster of the defunct Charlotte Sting. , President of the Business Group. "Aetna's leaders are visionaries Visionaries may refer to:
Aetna was honored for its Healthy Lifestyles program, which offers incentives and rewards employees for making positive choices for better health. Healthy Lifestyles, the umbrella program for many of Aetna's health and fitness initiatives, offers financial incentives for participation in educational courses, use of web-based health resources, preventative care visits, and workout Workout Informal repayment or loan forgiveness arrangement between a borrower and creditors. workout 1. The process of a debtor's meeting a loan commitment by satisfying altered repayment terms. activities. Employees can earn up to $345 a year, which can be deposited in a health savings account A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). The funds contributed to the account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. , employer-established fund, or paycheck in order to help employees manage their health care expenses. The program also offers other incentives to make physical fitness a priority, such as free pedometers. "We are extremely proud of the Aetna Healthy Lifestyles program and the many benefits it provides our employees companywide," said Jane Hopkins, head of Benefits for Aetna. "Obesity is a driving force behind today's rising health care costs, and this award is evidence that Aetna is at the forefront in helping our employees manage their weight, decrease their medical expenses, and work in a healthy environment." The Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards program was created by the Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity to honor those who recognize the urgent need to improve their workers' health, productivity and quality of life. The underlying goal of the program is to serve as a catalyst to encourage all employers to take action. Winners of the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyle awards were honored at the Business Group's Obesity Leadership Summit. Awards were in one of three categories: Platinum, for established programs with measurable outcomes; Gold, for creating cultural and environmental changes that support employees who have made a commitment to long-term behavior changes Behavior change refers to any transformation or modification of human behavior. Such changes can occur intentionally, through behavior modification, without intention, or change rapidly in situations of mental illness. ; and Silver, for those employers who have launched significant programs or services to promote living a healthier lifestyle. As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy pharmacy, art of compounding and dispensing drugs and medication. The term is also applied to an establishment used for such purposes. Until modern times medication was prepared and dispensed by the physician himself. In the 18th cent. , group life, disability and long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 14.4 million medical members, 12.8 million dental members, 9.0 million pharmacy members and 14.0 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 672,000 health care professionals, including over 400,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 4,084 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of March 31, 2005) |
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