New alliance targets childhood obesity

National medical associations, insurers and employers have formed a new alliance with the American Heart Association to combat childhood obesity by ensuring that children have coverage for primary care visits and sessions with dietitians.
The effort, dubbed the Alliance Healthcare Initiative and involving Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, among others, also will educate parents about childhood obesity and about the expansion of services available to their children as a result of this project.
“Nearly one in three children in the U.S. is overweight or obese – we are confronting a public health crisis,” said former President William J. Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation, who co-leads the effort’s sponsor, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and American Heart Association President Tim Gardner.
“If we teach people at an early age that eating healthy and moving more is important, an entire generation of Americans will live healthier and longer lives,” Clinton added. “I am grateful that our collaborators in the Alliance Healthcare Initiative understand that combating the childhood obesity epidemic is going to take a comprehensive approach to care. I hope that other employers and insurers follow the lead of these organizations. ”
This is the first time a group of organizations has worked together to ensure children get the insurance coverage they need to fight obesity, the Alliance said, and it’s also the first time outcomes will be monitored to ensure the benefits are being used.
Doctors will be reimbursed for bringing children back for follow-up visits and for working with them on the adoption of healthy behaviors. Registered dietitians also will be reimbursed for providing in-depth nutrition counseling over multiple visits to those children who are referred by their doctors. Participating companies will have access to materials and resources developed by the Alliance to inform parents about childhood obesity prevention and treatment.
“This program will allow children and their families for the first time to have access to these preventive medical services in most regions of the country,” Gardner said. “Looking forward, the initiative represents a tremendous opportunity to bring the best science behind what is effective in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity to those who are overweight, and therefore, in the greatest need. We know that effective prevention and reversal of obesity in childhood will lead to longer and healthier lives.”
Along with BCBSMA, other insurers that are participating include Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and WellPoint. Major employers such as the Houston Independent School District, Owens Corning and Paychex are participating as customers of Aetna. PepsiCo also has joined the project, and the William J. Clinton Foundation and American Heart Association will also offer these benefits to their employees. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association will collaborate with these organizations to help clinicians provide education, improve care coordination, offer resources to eligible families, and help with recruitment of medical professionals.
Nearly a million children are expected to benefit from the program in the first year, and the long-term goal is to reach 25 percent of all overweight children – about 6.2 million – within three years.
For more information about the project, visit www.HealthierGeneration.org.