PRESS RELEASE

UnitedHealthcare’s Baby Blocks® Helps Expectant Mothers in Tennessee Deliver Healthy Babies

November 17, 2015
  • Expectant mothers who enroll in the online program keep healthy-baby appointments and maintain healthy behaviors throughout pregnancy
  • Interactive incentive program available to Tennesseans enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicaid plan

Expectant mothers who enroll in UnitedHealthcare Community Plan’s Baby Blocks® interactive incentive program keep healthy-baby appointments and maintain healthy behaviors through their pregnancies, as well as deliver healthy babies.

Baby Blocks helps new and expectant moms manage doctor visits and promotes healthy behavior during pregnancy and the first 15 months of their baby’s life. The interactive toolis available to women covered by UnitedHealthcare Community Plan in 16 states, including Tennessee. Expectant moms receive incentives for completing prenatal, postpartum and healthy-baby appointments. Users can access Baby Blocks via a mobile web application on their iPhones and Android smartphones.

“The response we’ve received from moms and mom’s to be that are using UnitedHealthcare’s Baby Blocks program has been very positive,” said Rita Johnson-Mills, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Tennessee. “This fun and easy-to-use tool gives mothers a helping hand – it’s an opportunity to improve their health and the health of their babies, and receive some rewards as well.”

In Tennessee, the infant mortality rate is more than 7 per 1,000 live births, ranking the state 41st, according to United Health Foundation’s 2014 America’s Heath Rankings® report, and more than 9 percent of babies weigh less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces). Baby Blocks can help increase safe and healthy pregnancies and deliveries. Since its launch in Tennessee in 2012, more than 9,000 babies have been born.

The program enables users to receive email appointment alerts and wellness-related text messages, connect directly with maternity nurses and earn rewards for keeping the appointments. Rewards include gift cards to retail outlets, and maternity-related items such as teething rings, diaper bags, thermometers and other items.

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 1 million people in Tennessee with a network of 142 hospitals and more than 25,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.