Program participants receive the same education and follow-up care as in traditional disease management programs. Participation is voluntary and confidential, Buckwold says. But even if employers don't know their employees are involved in the program, they still reap the benefits in the long run. Buckwold says Cigna is already seeing the financial and health impact of Well Aware. Well Aware shows that those who were not fully compliant had significantly more emergency room visits and hospitalizations than Well Aware participants who were compliant with the program.
Members can stay involved with program for as long as they want.
The Cigna Well Aware program is automatically included in the benefits package of its commercial HMO members. Companies with self-funded plans also have the option of choosing that benefit for their employees, and David Feng, who works in Cigna's public relations department, says they often choose to enroll. Other health insurance companies contract the services of an independent provider for disease management. Molly Dyer, manager of Baptist Hospital's Wellness Complex, says many of the patients participating in their disease management outpatient program have been referred by doctors. The Baptist Wellness complex offers disease management for people with diabetes and cardiac and pulmonary illnesses.