Coalition of Organizations Take Pledge to Provide Obesity Prevention, Treatment to Millions of Individuals

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Nov. 15, 2017 - Today healthcare leaders across the nation, including private and public payers and employers, are taking the My Healthy Weight pledge to offer obesity prevention and treatment for individuals of all ages. With more than one in three U.S. adults overweight or living with obesity, this first-ever collaboration is taking serious action to tackle one of America’s most challenging and costly public health concerns. Each year, obesity care costs nearly $210 billion to the nation’s health care system.

Under the My Healthy Weight initiative:

• Individuals with a BMI of 30 or higher will have access to at least 12 visits a year with a healthcare professional to support healthy weight.
• Individuals with a BMI of 25 or higher and specific cardiovascular health risks and children with at-risk BMIs will be offered visits with healthcare professionals.
• Eligible individuals will also have access to community-based programs that have a proven ability to support healthy weight in adults or children.

Founding members of the My Healthy Weight initiative include:

• State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
• Blue Shield of California
• Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan
• Connecticut Department of Social Services
• Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance
• Nestlé
• South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

“Healthy weight is medicine that our country needs right now,” said Donna E. Shalala, board member and former president and CEO of the Clinton Foundation. “Through this collaborative, millions of individuals will receive crucial, lifesaving support from trusted healthcare professionals to prevent and treat obesity. Support delivered in the spirit of partnership. Support that lifts people up to live healthier lives.”

“Each founding member in My Healthy Weight is a leader in the fight to combat this national public health crisis,” said Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH, CEO of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. “By covering obesity prevention and treatment for members of all ages, they are taking a bold action to support better health at the most fundamental levels. This proactive, preventive initiative will make our entire healthcare system better and will improve millions of lives.”

“Healthcare is changing rapidly in America, and prevention is too often an afterthought or left out of the conversation entirely,” said Dr. Anand Parekh, BPC chief medical advisor. “The founding members of My Healthy Weight are putting a historic stake in the ground to say that they value obesity and chronic disease prevention, which represents a fundamental and long overdue shift in the way we think about healthcare in this country.”

My Healthy Weight is an expansion of the work Healthier Generation has done to develop public-private partnerships focused on reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity. In 2009, Healthier Generation assembled a coalition of national medical associations, leading private insurers, and employers to offer comprehensive health services to children for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity, called the Healthier Generation Benefit. Under that initiative, 2.9 million children received preventive guidance and treatment to live healthily. The success of the program was profiled in the Journal of Obesity and The Journal of Pediatrics.

The work also puts into action policy recommendations issued by BPC, Healthier Generation, and the American College of Sports Medicine that have called for the need to adequately reimburse for effective, evidence-based behavioral therapy and community-based interventions that address overweight and obesity. BPC has also worked with many partners to issue the Provider Competencies for the Prevention and Management of Obesity to ensure that all healthcare providers are adequately trained to prevent and treat obesity.

Healthier Generation and BPC developed this public-private initiative with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Health organizations interested in the initiative can learn more by contacting [email protected].

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About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation empowers kids to develop lifelong healthy habits by ensuring the environments that surround them provide and promote good health. More than 25 million children have been helped by Healthier Generation’s work with schools, communities, and businesses across the country. Make a difference at HealthierGeneration.org and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Bipartisan Policy Center

The Bipartisan Policy Center is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship to address the key challenges facing the nation. Our policy solutions are the product of informed deliberations by former elected and appointed officials, business and labor leaders, and academics and advocates who represent both ends of the political spectrum. We currently focus on health, energy, national security, the economy, financial regulatory reform, housing, immigration, infrastructure, and governance. BPC was founded in 2007 by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell. For more information, please visit: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/.