A proactive health plan: taking action on tobacco control

Drawing on this information, we set up an automated telephone response system for the health risk assessment and linked it to the enrollment of specific employer groups and workplace interventions for employers who were interested. HealthPartners, in partnership with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota, is one of the managed care organisations to be awarded a full evaluation grant under the "Addressing Tobacco in Managed Care" research initiative. The grant allows HealthPartners to evaluate a new smoking cessation benefit covering pharmacological aids, combined with an innovative, consumer oriented campaign to raise consumer awareness of this benefit and interest in smoking cessation.