BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Dec. 13, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CIGNA today announced it has further expanded its consumer engagement and health advocacy capabilities through its acquisition of privately held vielife, a U.K.-based leading provider of integrated online health management and coaching programs. vielife, based in London, provides health risk assessment, behavioral change programs and online coaching for over 1.3 million people in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
These online programs and other coaching and health advocacy programs offered by CIGNA are designed to help address the most common, costly - and preventable - causes of death and disability. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, account for seven out of every 10 deaths and affect the quality of life of 90 million Americans. Also according to the CDC, adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors can prevent or control the effects of chronic diseases. CIGNA's coaching programs are targeted to healthy and at-risk individuals to help them make positive changes in health behaviors, such as becoming more physically active or eating more nutritiously, to reduce risks and to maintain or improve health.
Combining the significant health advocacy strengths of CIGNA with vielife's online coaching capabilities and technology platform further enhances CIGNA's ability to engage consumers, particularly on lifestyle issues such as those related to sleep, stress, nutrition and fitness. These complementary components are valuable additions to CIGNA's robust portfolio of health and wellness programs, supplementing the initiatives aimed at preventing future health problems. vielife's capabilities will help enable CIGNA to develop the industry's next generation of integrated health advocacy programs to meet the evolving needs of the marketplace.
"CIGNA and vielife share a core philosophy and a common goal of improving the health and productivity of populations by actively engaging healthy and at-risk individuals even before an adverse health event occurs," said Keith Dixon, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of CareAllies and CIGNA Behavioral Health. "We are committed to helping individuals live vibrant, healthier lives. Our goal is to help people understand and then address and prevent the modifiable causes of health problems, rather than simply treating illness after it has already occurred. We do this through a focus on early identification of risk factors and promoting health and well-being, using information and coaching to encourage and support individuals in this process."
"Over the last five years, vielife has grown to become the largest global provider of integrated online health and well-being services," said Clive Pinder, vielife's managing director. "We believe that employers, health plans and governments are now looking for more extensive integrated health management solutions and benefits, so joining forces with CIGNA was a natural and strategic progression for us. We have access to the global resource we need to support our growth plans and more importantly we are able to offer our clients and the communities we serve a more complete and integrated portfolio of products."
In addition to the expanded capabilities it brings to CIGNA's medical, health management and behavioral health businesses, vielife will continue to provide its products and services under the vielife brand to specific target markets.
Internationally, the acquisition of vielife brings added market-leading capabilities to the CIGNA portfolio through which CIGNA International will be able to seamlessly integrate additional health and well-being programs into the health care coverage it offers to employers. In light of the transaction, CIGNA International will be able to combine private medical insurance with innovative absence, occupational health and employee assistance programs, and health and well-being management programs, initially in the U.K. and thereafter in other geographic markets.
About CIGNA
As a Business of Caring, CIGNA (NYSE: CI) provides employers with benefits, expertise and services that improve the health, well-being and productivity of their employees. With approximately 47 million covered lives in the United States and around the world, CIGNA's operating subsidiaries offer a full portfolio of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits and group life, accident and disability insurance. As of June 30, 2006, 20.4 million individuals were enrolled in a CIGNA medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy or vision plan in the United States. Additionally, 3.9 million people were covered by a CIGNA disability policy, 9.8 million were covered by a CIGNA life insurance policy and 9.1 million were covered by a CIGNA accident policy. CIGNA also has 3.7 million life, accident and health policies in force in the Asia Pacific region, Europe and Chile, covers nearly 240,000 expatriate members in more than 170 countries and jurisdictions, and has more than 440,000 health care members in the United Kingdom, Spain, Chile and Guatemala.
About CareAllies
CareAllies offers benefit plan sponsors and their employees a proactive, consistent and consumer-focused approach to health and wellness, regardless of their medical plan or provider network. CareAllies' proprietary health management and wellness program suite helps employees improve their health and productivity through patient support, motivation and coaching, medical information and assistance with management of clinical services. CareAllies programs are administered through Intracorp, a CIGNA HealthCare company. For more information, visit http://www.careallies.com/ .
About vielife
vielife is a global leader in the development and delivery of integrated health & well-being (HWB) programmes to increase productivity and reduce health care costs. We serve over 1.3 million users worldwide. As a global leader in the critical task of transforming the way individuals, employers, health plans and governments manage physical and emotional well-being, we empower and support vibrant and productive people. Using a unique evidence- based approach that integrates four critical areas of HWB - sleep, stress, nutrition and physical activity - with proven 'stages of change' methodology, vielife identifies which people issues drive performance and helps organisations manage HWB through health management programmes that are directly linked to business and cost drivers. vielife's services include personalised health assessments linked to tailored behavioural change programmes including weight management, smoking cessation, stress management, and physical activity. http://www.vielife.com/
SOURCE: CIGNA Corporation
CONTACT: Amy Turkington, CIGNA HealthCare, +1-860-226-3489,
amy.turkington@cigna.com; or Ann Dougan, CIGNA International, 01475 492484,
ann.dougan@cigna.com
Web site: http://www.cigna.com/
http://www.careallies.com/
http://www.vielife.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/165050.html
