DETROIT – Oct. 13, 2005 – Health Alliance Plan’s (HAP) Weight Wise Program was recognized today as an outstanding disease prevention program by Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Michigan Surgeon General. The recognition was presented at the Michigan Steps Up Stakeholder Meeting in Lansing, Mich.

“I am delighted to honor the Health Alliance Plan’s Weight Wise Program,” said Wisdom. “This innovative program has helped to spread the Michigan Steps Up message—move more, eat better, don’t smoke—to HAP members and is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when organizations step up and play a role in improving the health of their community.”

The Michigan Steps Up Healthcare Group, a collaboration between the Michigan Department of Community Health and more than 40 other organizations, honored 13 programs from throughout the State of Michigan that promote healthy eating, physical activity or not smoking. This is the first year of the recognition program.

The HAP Weight Wise Program is an inspiring, high-energy program to help HAP members adopt healthy habits that deliver lasting weight control and higher energy. Launched in 2004, the program abandons the idea of trendy fad diets – and focuses on lifestyle changes members can make toward better health. To date, sessions have been held in Detroit, Livonia, Southfield and Sterling Heights, touching 3,700 HAP members.

The recognition for Weight Wise comes one year after Dr. Wisdom’s Prescription for a Healthier Michigan, a challenge to Michigan’s health care stakeholders to promote preventive programs that support the health and well-being of Michigan citizens. Michigan’s high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and smoking contribute to preventable disability and escalating health care expenses. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 62 percent of Michigan adults are overweight or obese.

About HAP
Headquartered in Detroit, HAP is a nonprofit health plan serving 524,000 members and 2,800 employer groups. HAP is a subsidiary of the Henry Ford Health System, one of the nation’s leading regional health care systems. HAP serves companies of all sizes—from large national groups to small groups—through an expansive product portfolio, including: the flagship HMO, PPOs, experience-rated, fully insured and self-funded products, and consumer-driven health plans with compatible health savings accounts. The National Committee for Quality Assurance awarded HAP’s commercial HMO its highest status, Excellent Accreditation, and Full Accreditation for Alliance Health and Life Insurance Company PPO products.

About Michigan Steps Up
Michigan Steps Up is the Michigan Surgeon General’s statewide healthy lifestyles campaign designed reduce adult and childhood obesity and chronic disease in Michigan by promoting physical activity, healthy eating, and living a tobacco-free lifestyle. The campaign website—www.michiganstepsup.org—was launched on February 3, 2005. As part of Michigan Steps Up, the Surgeon General has collaborated with over 300 stakeholders representing business, education, faith-based, and healthcare communities as well as the community-at-large and policy makers to identify ways for our state to create sustainable change and improve our health status.

# # #