Blue Cross Awarded National Honors for Smoking Cessation Initiatives.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

EAGAN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2003

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota's tradition of excellence in stop-smoking programming was once again recognized yesterday as three programs from its Center for Tobacco Reduction & Health Improvement won national awards from the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP). The AAHP honored the Center for its physician's tobacco tax initiative, recruiting lower income members into smoking cessation counseling and for an initiative to challenge college students' tobacco use as part of AAHP's Managed Care Achievements in Tobacco Control Awards Program.

"We're honored to be recognized once again for our continued efforts to help Minnesotans quit smoking," said Marc Manley, M.D., executive director of the Center for Tobacco Reduction and Health Improvement at Blue Cross. "Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in our state. It's wonderful that the AAHP values the work we've done to make Minnesota a healthier place."

Blue Cross took first place in all three categories in the Managed Care Achievements in Tobacco Control Awards Program.

-- The Physicians' Tobacco Tax Initiative recruited more than

1,500 physicians to voice public support for an increase in

the tobacco tax, together with the Minnesota Medical

Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

-- A direct-mail initiative nearly doubled participation in the

BluePrint for Health(R) stop-smoking counseling program among

Blue Cross members of the Prepaid Medical Assistance Program

(PMAP) and almost tripled participation among Blue Cross

members of MinnesotaCare. Despite higher smoking rates and an

equal desire to quit, these groups had lower participation

rates in the program than other Blue Cross members. The

initiative targeted their mistaken concerns about costs and

increased enrollment in the free program. Overall, nearly one

in five participants in BluePrint for Health(R) reported not

smoking one year after the program.

-- A counter-marketing effort on five Minnesota college campuses

addressed the staggering increase in tobacco use among young

adults and challenged students' attempts to rationalize their

behavior. Some recent survey results on young adult smoking

prevalence estimate that up to half of college-age adults are

regular smokers. The initiative is a partnership with the

American Cancer Society -- Midwest Division.

The Center for Tobacco Reduction and Health Improvement at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota builds on the legacy of Blue Cross's work to reduce tobacco use, for which Blue Cross has won two AAHP awards in previous years.

The AAHP awards recognize and honor innovative and practical strategies, practices, programs and policies used by health plans to establish effective tobacco prevention and cessation interventions, and to reduce the problems caused by tobacco use.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A not-for-profit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.6 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago.