Louisville, Ky. (February 14, 2008) – SHPS, a leading provider of health advocacy and health benefits solutions, announced today that Chris Ryan, SHPS’ chief strategy and marketing officer, will present at the 2008 Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference in San Diego. The conference’s theme is “Maximizing ROI in Health Promotion: Improving Health, Reducing Costs” and will run March 5-8.

Ryan’s presentation, titled The Role of Wellness Programs in Decreasing – or Increasing – Health Costs: Analysis and Findings from the 2007 SHPS Health Practices Study, will focus on several key findings from the company’s health practices study. The study challenges many traditional benefits practices – including the assumption that standalone wellness promotion and education can reduce overall healthcare costs. SHPS’ study found that companies surveyed who use wellness promotion and education as their primary health strategy spend 16.9 percent more on healthcare. This same group of employers was also more likely to report that they had an effective health strategy, even though the cost data told a different story.

Ryan, the chief architect of SHPS’ 2007 study and noted author of several articles and books including, Making Consumerism Work: A Practical Guide to Transforming Healthcare (2006) and Making Medicaid Work: A Practical Guide to Transforming Medicaid (2007) will present at 2 p.m. PST on March 6 at the San Diego Convention Center.

About SHPS
SHPS provides a broad range of innovative health management tools, resources and services that empower consumers to make wise healthcare decisions. With comprehensive services that transform consumer health behaviors, SHPS’ integrated delivery system maximizes the value of consumers’ and employers’ healthcare dollars. Among its many clients, SHPS serves large and mid-sized employers, health insurance carriers, third party administrators, Medicare Part D providers and government agencies. The company employs registered nurses and health professionals, employee benefit specialists and IT experts in facilities across the United States. Visit www.shps.com.

For More Information
Sarah Bovine
Director, Corporate Communications
sarah.bovine@shps.com

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