FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, and BOISE, Idaho, September 21, 2010—As part of HealthPartners’ new Let’s Talk Health Program, members will be able to use new online coaching tools that will help them start talking about important health issues and how to improve their health. The program uses new technology products called Healthwise^® Ix^® Conversations. The Conversations are developed by Healthwise, a nonprofit organization that produces engaging and user-friendly health information on a wide range of topics.

Each of the online coaching tools at Let’s Talk Health is like a real conversation that asks questions and responds with tailored information to match people’s specific needs. People also get help creating a personal plan for achieving the health goals they are working on. Topics include Dealing with Stress, Getting Active, Healthy Weight, and Quitting Smoking Again. Following each 15 to 20 minute program, users can print out summaries and their personal plans to share with doctors or coaches.

“We know that research and discussion on health concerns do not always start or end at the doctor’s office—they happen at home,” said Babette Apland, Senior Vice President, Health and Care Management for HealthPartners. “HealthPartners and Healthwise are excited to offer this online resource to support our members and patients in reaching their health goals.”

HealthPartners is the first to offer Dealing With Stress, the newest Healthwise Conversation. It uses a step-by-step process that explains the different ways stress builds in our daily lives and then suggests a variety of healthy ways to respond. People can return to the Conversation to learn tips and practice exercises to help them continue on their path to a healthier lifestyle.

Healthwise has created 14 interactive Conversations to help people learn about complex health issues. Conversations use a combination of animation, storytelling, and technology similar to that used in the Internet game industry to create a custom experience for each user. The Healthwise Ix Conversation on Dealing with Low Back Pain was recognized as the 2010 Overall Grand Clearmark Award winner from the Center for Plain Language.

About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. More than 112 million times a year, people turn to Healthwise information to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say “no” to the care that’s not right for them. Healthwise partners with health plans, hospitals, disease management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. www.healthwise.org

About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the $3 billion HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of health care companies serves 1.25 million members and provides care to over 500,000 patients in our HealthPartners care delivery system, which includes 70 clinics and three hospitals. It is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation, providing care, coverage, research, and education to improve the health of members, patients, and the community. HealthPartners is among the top 25 best private health plans in the nation and the top-ranked plan in Minnesota, according to U.S. News & World Report/NCQA "America's Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10."