Microsoft tackles weighty issues: 800 workers, 26,000 lbs. lost

Wow ! Is this true?

--
Will~

"... so that's how liberty ends, in a round of applause."

Queen Amidala, The revenge of the Syth.


"Gil Bates" wrote in message
...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

By ANGELA GALLOWAY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Tony Seeley knew he was in trouble the day his doctor told him he had the
body of a healthy 62-year-old man.

For years, Seeley struggled with all the familiar weight-loss themes: fad
diets, bad eating habits, discouragement. But not long after that day at
his doctor's office, Seeley found his breakthrough thanks to an unlikely
partner: his boss.

"It was a revelation," Seeley said. "I lost 130 pounds, and I did it in 10
months."

Seeley was among nearly 800 Microsoft Corp. employees who have shed about
26,000 pounds through an exceptionally intensive weight-management program
offered by the company.

While Microsoft takes the benefit to unusually extended levels, health
policy insiders say a trend is emerging among employers and insurers to
offer comprehensive weight-management programs, even as both sides
scramble
to trim other benefits to slow the double-digit growth in health care
costs.

We're not talking gym memberships or diet clubs. These are long-term,
doctor-driven, multifaceted programs for the seriously overweight or obese
that can run $10,000 or more and sometimes lead to gastric-bypass surgery.

Microsoft was among the nation's first companies to roll out such a
program, starting with smaller pilot groups in 1999. Early last year,
Starbucks Corp. began offering a package to its workers in the Puget Sound
area.

The programs are similar at both companies: integration of a fitness
regimen with dietary and psychological counseling, all the while under the
oversight of a medical doctor trained in weight-loss management.

Microsoft and Starbucks both say they've found indications that such
offerings pay off for their companies' bottom lines. Both cap lifetime
benefits and offer them only to employees, partners and dependents who
meet
certain obesity and health condition criteria.

Both companies have contracts with the same clinic group, although
Microsoft has since added a second. Both require workers pitch in 20
percent of the costs.

"You give them a check for $3,500 and they give you a plastic water
bottle," said Seeley, a program manager. "Ten months later, I'm running 5K
runs in downtown Seattle.

"I would have paid $20,000 out of my own pocket to do this program."

The key? Seeley offered an answer that amounted to "all of the above." An
exercise regime in a gym friendly to the overweight meant a "huge change"
in his lifestyle. The dietary advice revolutionized his understanding of
food, especially foods high in carbohydrates such as white rice and pasta.
And the support services removed guilt, leaving room for optimism.

"You find out you're not a freak and you're not weird and everyone else is
having the same frustrations," Seeley said of the program he joined two
years ago. To this day, he still exercises several times a week, he said.
"I didn't find it hard -- that's the weirdest thing."

Last month, insurer Premera Blue Cross unveiled a more moderate menu of
options for employers to consider as add-ons. Aetna offers comprehensive
"custom" products to large businesses willing to pay for them, and began
broad offerings of a slimmer "tiered" package of weight-management
benefits
earlier this year.

Microsoft recently calculated that 774 participants from July 2003 to
August 2004 lost an average of roughly 9 percent of their weight, said Tom
McPherson, senior benefits manager for Microsoft, which began offering the
benefit companywide two years ago and requires participants to enroll for
a
minimum of six months.

Of those who did, 50 had bariatric, or weight loss, surgery. Many saw
substantial reductions in their blood pressure and cholesterol levels,
without the need for medications, McPherson said.

"Many of the people that enter the program haven't accessed medical care
for a while," McPherson added.

Geoff Thomas, a Microsoft technical support analyst, credits his weight
loss for eliminating his grueling migraines -- dramatically cutting his
sick days and improving his productivity. In recent years, Thomas dropped
from more than 480 pounds to a low of 280. He's now back up to about 320,
but he's confident he can lose that and more.

"What I needed was a push and since I had responsibility to (a) trainer, I
made a commitment to them," Thomas said. "It was like I was doing it for
him as well as me."

Like Seeley, Thomas says each aspect of the program led to his success: a
gym without pressure to look good, accountability to a trainer, a
specialized doctor and behavioral counseling.

"Instead of keeping things all inside me and bottled up, I could actually
discuss (food issues)," Thomas said. "There's actually a lot of
psychological work that is going on while you are losing weight."

Thomas has taken up trail riding on his bicycle, hockey and in-line
skating. "I used to pretty much do nothing," said Thomas, whose social
life
was largely limited to science fiction and other television programs. As
soon as he heals from an injury, Thomas said, he plans to resume teaching
skating. "Teaching is just one of the best ways in the world to relate to
people."

At Starbucks, 41 participants have seen the program through, said Annette
King, director of benefits for the company. On average, the participants
lost about 20 pounds.

Although the data are still preliminary, King said her company has seen
substantial reductions in the use of medications for arthritis, back pain
and gastroesophageal reflux disease. "We would like to get several years'
experience on how long those participants maintained their weight loss,"
King said.

Still, McPherson said it's only a matter of time before other companies
see
the evidence they need to jump in. "It's very difficult once you roll out
a
benefit to roll it back, so I think companies are waiting," he said.

Last summer, the federal government removed language in Medicare policy
that stated obesity was not an illness, opening the door for some Medicare
clients to receive anti-obesity treatments, according to Amy Winterfeld, a
health policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Medicaid and private insurers often mimic Medicare policy, she said.

Today, Medicaid programs for the poor and disabled in Washington and
nearly
all other states pay for weight-loss surgery for qualified patients,
according to a report by Winterfeld. Several states require that insurers
cover care for the morbidly obese.

An unusual local clinical group called Sound Health Solutions has helped
put local employers on the innovative edge of this trend. Microsoft was
among the first clients of the company, which was established nearly a
decade ago by two doctors specializing in internal medicine.

"We never really had the time or the resources really to be able to
address
obesity itself," said Dr. Frances Gough, one of the founders. "So we
stepped away from a traditional clinical practice to put together an
integrated program."

In recent years, Gough said, interest has begun to percolate and some
companies are willing to help pay for intensive weight-loss programs.

Once the federal government starts covering obesity in general, such
programs won't be anomalies for long, said Gough's partner, Dr. Teresa
Girolami. "When that happens, I think you'll see a big shift in the
insurance industry."

DETAILS
Here's a quick look at weight-management services offered to Microsoft
employees:

Eligibility: The employee must have a body mass index of at least 30, or
at
least 27 with two or more of the following conditions: congestive heart
failure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension.
(Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that
applies to both men and women. An index of more than 30 is considered
obese.)

Medically supervised services include an intensive phase involving at
least
10 sessions with a physician, personal fitness trainer, dietitian and
behavioral therapist. That's followed by three months of follow-up and
maintenance with professionals on a less rigorous but still-regular
schedule.

Success: In a one-year period, nearly 800 participants lost a total of
about 26,000 pounds. The average weight loss was 30 pounds per person. The
number of participants with high cholesterol fell by 50 percent, and the
number with high blood pressure fell by 30 percent.
Source: National Institute of Health Care Management