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MOUNTAIN STATE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD AND NINE WEST VIRGINIA HOSPITALS LAUNCH THE RENOWNED DR. DEAN ORNISH PROGRAM FOR REVERSING HEART DISEASE THROUGHOUT THE STATE A tenth hospital might soon be added to the statewide network Ornish Program will be covered by Mountain
State
Under the plan announced today at a noon news conference in the state capital, Mountain State will begin reimbursing medically qualified members who participate in the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease at the following hospital-based sites throughout the state:
A tenth West Virginia hospital, City Hospital, Inc., Martinsburg, is in discussions with Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield to also offer the Ornish Program. There are other Ornish Program sites operating in four states and the District of Columbia. However, West Virginia's nine confirmed sites is unprecedented in the history of the Ornish Program. Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is, to date, the only private health insurer reimbursing for the Ornish Program in West Virginia. Mountain State is working to get all other major private health insurers in the state to also cover the Ornish Program, thereby helping broaden access and strengthening the financial viability of the participating hospitals. Meantime, medically qualified members of the public insurers, Medicaid and the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), are also eligible for reimbursement for the Ornish Program. Medicaid and PEIA were early supporters of the Ornish Program in West Virginia and their agreement to cover the Program was instrumental in enrolling the participating hospitals. Moreover, all of the West Virginia Ornish sites may apply to participate in The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration - HCFA) nationwide Demonstration Project featuring the Ornish Program. If approved to participate in the Demonstration Project, the sites would be eligible to enroll medically qualified Medicare recipients whose costs for the Ornish Program would be paid, in large part, by the federal government. All told, the combined private and public health insurance coverage of the Ornish Program in West Virginia represents the most comprehensive and widespread coverage of the Program in the nation. "We are extremely pleased with the response and interest from hospitals and the medical community in establishing the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease," said Gregory K. Smith, president and CEO of Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield. "It is a scientifically proven, effective and cost efficient method for addressing the problems of heart disease and contributing health habits. In addition to the response from the hospitals and medical community, we are also pleased that the public programs in West Virginia have recognized the value of and agreed to add the Ornish Program as a covered service. Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is committed to improving the quality of life and health status for all West Virginians, and the Ornish Program represents a wonderful initiative to help accomplish this." Each of the nine participating hospitals will begin offering the one-year Ornish Program in early 2002. City Hospital, Inc.'s Ornish Program would also commence in early 2002 if it joins the network. The non-invasive Ornish Program is a unique and
innovative treatment to supplement conventional treatment of heart disease.
It combines a low-fat vegetarian eating style, moderate aerobic exercise,
stress management and group support to improve blood flow to the heart,
decrease cholesterol, blood pressure and chest pain (angina) and improve
risk factors, exercise capacity, sense of well-being and satisfaction
with life while avoiding cardiac events. It also is used to prevent heart
disease from developing in people with severe risk factors for the disease.
The yearlong Program will be administered at each hospital by a specially trained medical director, nurse case manager, registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, stress management instructor and group support facilitator. Program staff at each participating hospital is working closely with primary care physicians and cardiologists to identify medically qualified candidates for the Program. Individuals interested in participating in the Ornish Program are also encouraged to contact their respective Program site directly for information on enrolling. (Please see contact information on last page of this news release.) All Ornish participants remain under the care of their personal physicians and cardiologists, who will receive regular progress reports on their patients. Participants begin the Program with a 12-week session in which they meet twice a week for five hours. Group sizes will be kept small and personal to ensure that participants receive the maximum benefit from this very hands-on treatment for heart disease. Following the initial three months, participants progress to varying levels of Program attendance based on adherence, individual risk factors, and health status. After one year, follow-up and ongoing support are always available. The clinical benefits of the Ornish Program have been demonstrated with participants throughout the country who, in many cases, could not walk across a room without experiencing shortness of breath or chest pain when they first entered the Program. Today, the exercise and oxygen capacities of those same participants have increased significantly. They're walking or running miles at a clip without gasping for breath or suffering chest pain. One participant climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Many participants across the country have avoided bypass surgery, angioplasty and staved off first or repeat heart attacks or strokes. The participants have lost weight and dropped overall body fat. Their cholesterol levels have fallen precipitously. Their blood pressure is down. And their chest pain has decreased dramatically. Some participants have avoided a heart transplant and a lifetime of anti-rejection drug therapy. What's more, the participants' attitudes toward life in general have improved markedly. They're happier and have learned how to cope with stress. In short, the Ornish participants have resumed normal, everyday activities that most people take for granted, but ones they thought were lost forever. Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield introduced the Ornish Program to West Virginia through a contractual arrangement with Lifestyle Advantage of Pittsburgh, Pa. and Sausalito, Calif. Lifestyle Advantage is a joint company between the Pittsburgh health insurer Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute based in Sausalito. Lifestyle Advantage was formed in April 2000 following Highmark's successful three-year pilot project with Dr. Ornish's reversing heart disease program. "The clinical and financial benefits of Dr. Ornish's reversing heart disease Program were so significant that Highmark felt an obligation to help make the Ornish Program available to men and women across the United States and making it a benefit in their respective health plans," said Anna L. Silberman, president and CEO of Lifestyle Advantage, and the former Highmark executive who first brought the Program to the health insurer. "We're excited about bringing this innovative and scientifically proven treatment for heart disease to the people of West Virginia." "Having seen what a powerful difference lifestyle changes can make, my colleagues and I appreciate so much the opportunity to work with Lifestyle Advantage in order to make this Program more widely available to those who may benefit from it ¾ including those with heart disease ¾ and other lifestyle improvement programs we will be introducing later," said Dean Ornish, M.D. "I commend the growing number of private and public health insurers across the country who are reimbursing the cost of the Program. In fact, the insurer's role is key because both good science and reimbursement are necessary to make this Program available to those who most need it." "We have experienced, firsthand, the clinical and financial benefits of the Ornish Program in Western Pennsylvania," said Aaron Walton, chairman of the board, Lifestyle Advantage, and senior vice president, Strategic Community and Health Initiatives, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. "We have very high aspirations for our new national organization and we look forward to working closely with our new partners to meet our mission of helping people across the country live more satisfying and productive lives." Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Mountain State provides or administers coverage to more than 250,000 West Virginians and has more than 700 employees in Parkersburg, Charleston, Wheeling, Martinsburg, and Weirton. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Pittsburgh, Pa. and the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute of Sausalito, Calif formed Lifestyle Advantage in April 2000. Its mission is to increase and equalize national access to the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease and other lifestyle improvement programs. Lifestyle Advantage is licensing the one-year Ornish Program to health insurers, hospitals and large employers. It also conducts one-week retreats featuring the Ornish Program at sites across the country. More information on Lifestyle Advantage is available at 800.879.2217 or online at www.lifestyleadvantage.org. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR DR. DEAN ORNISH PROGRAM FOR REVERSING HEART DISEASE SITES IN WEST VIRGINIA* Camden Clark Memorial Hospital, Parkersburg, W.Va. Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, W.Va. City Hospital, Inc., Martinsburg, W.Va. *(Pending)
Princeton Community Hospital, Princeton, W.Va. St. Joseph's Hospital, Parkersburg, W.Va. St. Mary's Hospital, Huntington, W.Va.
West Virginia University Hospitals, Morgantown,
W.Va.
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