Health & Wellness

Not-for-profit managed care organization Healthfirst will provide “better-for-you” coupons from Linkwell Health to its health plan member population, many of whom are dealing with such chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The two entities have developed a relevant array of food and product coupons for these health conditions that will be mailed directly to members’ homes.

“Linkwell Health’s program is exactly the type of tool that can effectively motivate healthy behaviors in our member population,” said Pat Wang, president and CEO of Healthfirst, which provides high-quality health care coverage to low-income individuals and families living in New York. “Given the economic pressures we all feel right now, the simple intelligence of presenting guidance on nutrition through healthy coupons is ideal, especially for our plan.”

Healthfirst selected Linkwell because of the latter’s ability to analyze current buying behavior and craft a program to counteract unhealthy habits through practical coupon offers. Linkwell can track coupon redemption to show evidence of changes to member purchasing patterns in both the short and long term, thereby enabling plans and employers to assess the impact of a program.

“Healthfirst has a clear track record of delivering award-winning communications that effectively speak to its member population,” noted Benjamin Gardner, president and CEO of Needham, Mass.-based Linkwell, a privately owned company working with health care industry leaders. “We jointly feel that the construct of Linkwell’s program, which delivers healthy recommendations coupled with real value, is particularly relevant to Healthfirst members.”

Linkwell works with constituents of both the health care and food industries to create healthy couponing programs that influence food choices of members with chronic conditions. Applying insights from purchase data, the company designs personalized couponing to drive healthier choices at the supermarket.