Can Healthline give insurers wellness on the cheap?

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Healthline Response

Hello Dana: I?d like to clarify Healthline's relationship with
myOptumHealth.com. Healthline licenses our Medically
Guided Search technology and HealthSTAT ad serving
technology to myOptumHealth.com, to improve site
experience and ad relevancy, respectively. Optum designed
the site and has a team of talented medical professionals
writing original content, which is supplemented by licensed
content from medical publishers such as A.D.A.M. and
others (as explained in their press release
(http://optumhealth.com/News/Article/122/). Our
relationship with Optum is similar to the other 30+
partners Healthline works with, such as Aetna, Health.com,
US News, etc., who license our health search and clinical
applications, and utilize our advertising technologies under
a revenue-sharing model. We typically do not build or
manage our partners? full websites.

Secondly, Healthline is the exclusive direct ad sales
representative for myOptumHealth.com, which means that
our sales team sells banner ads, sponsorships, custom
campaigns, etc. on behalf of Optum. Pharmaceutical
advertisers are looking for new places to advertise, and
myOptumHealth promises to be a major new internet
health brand. Also, what is completely unique about
myOptumHealth is that they are consumer facing; other
insurers typically have a behind-the-firewall approach and
create consumer health sites as private portals or member
services.

As health care moves to "self-care" and patients are having
to make more health decisions than they've ever made
before, it is true insurers need and want more informed
health consumers, as informed patients indeed lower costs.
Healthcare is changing rapidly and insurance companies
would be wise to prepare for an open market, where
consumers (not employers) will chose their own health
plans. Optum Health, in launching myOptumHealth.com,
has built a world-class site that appeals to consumers and
their members alike, and could be ahead in this game.

Keep up the good work.

West Shell III
Chairman & CEO
Healthline Networks

Posted by: Healthline   Posted on: 12/02/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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