Well-being enhancement company
Healthways
(
HWAY
) recently revealed that it has extended its understanding with
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield to carry on as an administrator of
the HealthyRewards wellness curriculum for 220,000 Excellus BCBS
HealthyBlue plan enrollees. Healthways has been the administrator
of the program for Excellus BCBS from 2008 onwards. Their agreement
continues till 2013 and favors an outcome intended to identify and
reinforce positive behavior patterns in the commercial
segment.
As program administrator, Healthways provides complete client
services for HealthyRewards. Its services include multi-faceted
areas such as data extraction, awards redemption and reporting.
As an online incentive program, HealthyRewards is intended to
persuade HealthyBlue enrollees to adopt an active posture in
managing health-related matters. In fact, enrollees can win
financial bonuses in HealthyRewards by adopting a better lifestyle.
Participants can earn points by exercising, undergoing check ups
and engaging in healthy behaviors.
The Healthways model encourages people to make favorable lifestyle
changes that lead to enhanced well-being, reduced healthcare costs,
improved performance and economic value for customers. The company
has invested in technology platforms that provide scalable support
with large populations. It has tie-ups with a large proportion of
U.S. health plans and counts many millions of lives in its customer
base.
Due to its unique scalable business model, Healthways shares may
present a long-term investment opportunity, although it faces many
challenges in the short term.
Healthways is the leader in a strategically critical and rapidly
evolving part of the health care services market. Its fitness
program (SilverSneakers) for seniors is available at over 15,000
centers across the U.S. and is available to over nine million
eligible enrollees through Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage
plans and group retiree plans. Healthways competes with
Express Scripts
(
ESRX
) among others.
We currently have an Outperform recommendation on Healthways. The
stock retains a Zacks #1 Rank, which translates into a short-term
Strong Buy rating.
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