Virginia is taking a new level of interest in its employees' health, perhaps more than any other state in the nation.

The intent is to catch health problems before they become more serious -- and more costly for the state.

A pilot program involving about 17,000 state employees and their families in Hampton Roads will provide "health coaches," personalized exercise and diet plans and other resources through their health insurance.

It's called COVA Connect, provided through Virginia Beach-based Optima Health, Sentara Healthcare's insurance division. It replaces Anthem's COVA Care for state employees who live in Hampton, Poquoson, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and went into effect July 1. COVA is short for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

COVA brings together services available piecemeal elsewhere.

The key is convenience, because making lifestyle changes is tough, said Terrina Thomas, Optima Health's director of health and prevention services.

"We're not trying to tell everybody how to do it," Thomas said. "We just want to give people the tools if they want to."

The two-year contract is expected to cost the state $5 million a year in administrative costs, said Mike Salster of the Department of Human Resource Management.

"If employees are healthier, it reduces absenteeism," Salster said. "It reduces health care costs and provides a healthier lifestyle for the individual and the other members of the plan. Our goal here is healthier employees."

Employers are looking for prevention programs from health insurance providers as a way to cut down on the ever-rising cost of health care, Thomas said. It's becoming the new standard of health-insurance coverage.


"They are looking to health insurance companies to help stop the bleeding," she said. "It comes up more and more than we've ever seen before."

State savings

For the state, it's the latest in a series of health-related changes made in recent years, including providing age-appropriate health screenings for free, said Anne Waring of the Department of Human Resource Management.

And the state's residents have their share of health problems.

"One of Governor Kaine's goals of his administration that he set out in early 2006 was to improve the health of Virginians," Salster said. "The state work force provides a ready-made audience for health care initiatives.

"We do not know of anyone who has a program of this sort, in public or private enterprise," he added. "This is, as far as we are aware, the first time this has been attempted in the country."

Optima has saved about 17 percent by identifying people who are at high risk of developing chronic conditions and enrolling them health-management programs, according to the company.

Virginia could stand to see savings on health insurance.

In fiscal year 2007, the state spent $614 million in medical, behavioral health and pharmacy costs for about 95,000 employees. That went up to $714 million in 2008, about 2 percent of the state's operating budget.

About 35 percent of state employees don't exercise regularly, and 20 percent smoke, according to Optima.

The state in 2008 spent an average of $9,224 per employee enrolled in its health benefits program, on par with the national average among employer-sponsored health plans, according to the state.

Leaving behind doctors

COVA Connect invites members to fill out a personal health profile that is similar to health risk assessments that are available in other health plans. It's not mandatory, state and Optima officials said.

The questions help determine the member's risk for developing chronic conditions, such as cancer. Those at risk can consult with a team to help them manage and improve their health.

They'll also have access to health coaches, health-related discounts, personalized fitness programs and meal plans and other features through Optima's MyLife MyPlan and Healthyroads, a San Diego-based Web site.

Personal health information will be housed in a closed and confidential database. Only those with clearance and a reason to will have access to it, Thomas said. The profile doesn't contain personal identification information, such as Social Security numbers, that would appeal to hackers, Thomas said.

It's not maintained by the state, which had a database breach recently when someone hacked into the Virginia Department of Health Professions Prescription Monitoring Program, demanding a ransom for the information it kept. It's unclear whether anyone's information was compromised.

The information is not provided to the employer, except as aggregate data tracking the pilot program's effectiveness. It won't be used to determine promotions or demotions, Salster said.

Nor will the information be used to determine how much an individual participant will pay next year, Thomas said.

The Virginia Governmental Employees Association, which represents the interests of state employees, will keep an eye on how the information is used, said Ronald Jordan, the group's executive director.

It's not the personal health information giving state employees heartburn. It's leaving behind doctors they've been using for years, he said.


"Optima is a creature of Sentara. And Sentara's footprint on the Peninsula isn't anywhere near as wide as Riverside (Health System)," Jordan said.

The agency hopes to work with the state "to find a way to resolve this," he said.

"We don't have any problem with the intent of the pilot program at all. It's the way to go. Preventive health is the way of the future," he said. "Over time, it will save us money, it'll save the state money, and it'll make for a better health care system."

Tracking success

Optima and the state will track the program to find out if it's successful before rolling it out to state employees across Virginia.

The state will consider costs and look at factors such as whether attendance improved or conditions were detected earlier and had better outcomes, said Sara Redding Wilson, Human Resource Management director.

"If it works, then I think we would be leading the way and setting a standard in health care," Wilson said. "If it doesn't work, it tells people what not to do. How do you know unless you try?"

Virginia health

--In Virginia, as many as 58 percent of all residents are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Obesity soared 10 percent in the last decade -- more than any other state in the nation, Optima said.

--About 23 percent of the state's residents do not exercise regularly and about 25 percent smoke or use other tobacco products.

The health care reform debate

Beginning Sunday, the Daily Press takes a three-day look at the debate over how to reform the nation's health care system.