WellPoint Announces Strategic Relationship With FitOrbit to Enhance Efforts to Improve the Health and Wellness of Consumers Through Virtual Solutions

Published on Monday, 21 May 2012 10:07 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

INDIANAPOLIS-( Business Wire )-

Recent studies predict that obesity could affect 42 percent of Americans by 2030 – with 11 percent severely obese. As a company committed to helping people live healthier and addressing critical health issues, such as obesity, affecting our nation, WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP), has selected FitOrbit, Inc., as a strategic part of its suite of health and wellness solutions. FitOrbit, Inc. is a ground-breaking fitness and weight loss solution that leverages technology to provide the irreplaceable human touch of personal training with the efficiency and affordability of the internet.

FitOrbit’s model provides private, convenient, and affordable virtual services and support for consumers, by offering access to a real trainer who is available 24/7. Consumers are matched with trainers based on their stated goals, preferences and lifestyle. The trainers not only provide personalized exercise and meal plans, but they also track and continue to enhance these plans as they work in harmony with the consumer. Consumers also have access to exercise videos, recipes and a listing of FitOrbit friendly restaurants by zip code.

“Our relationship with and investment in FitOrbit continues our longstanding commitment to help people get healthy and stay healthy," says Ken Goulet, Executive Vice President of WellPoint’s Employer, Medicaid, Individual and Specialty Business units. "As a consumer-focused company, we know that health maintenance and improvement are important to members in our affiliated health plans as well as employers and we continually look for innovative ways to respond to their needs. When members are actively engaged in wellness and care management programs, it helps them to maintain and improve their health and can help them and employers better control their health care costs. We believe FitOrbit enhances our plans’ health and wellness offerings with tools and resources that are convenient and provide value.”

“Fighting obesity and increasing fitness is my passion and my life's mission,” says Jake “Body by Jake” Steinfeld, Founder and Chairman of FitOrbit. “In my businesses as well as through my work with the Nation's Governors, I strive to create practical, user-friendly weight management solutions for all Americans. I feel privileged to partner with WellPoint, a health benefits company that sees the value of personal training as a preventative health solution. Together we will have the means, reach and commitment to make a positive impact in our country's war on obesity.”

WellPoint joins Spark Capital – who led FitOrbit’s A-round in Dec. 2010 – in making an investment in FitOrbit’s industry-leading platform. WellPoint is the first and only health benefits company to work with FitOrbit, and it intends to begin offering the FitOrbit solutions in select products in early 2013.

"Spark saw FitOrbit's potential to be the market-leader in internet-based weight loss solutions,” says Todd Dagres, General Partner of Spark Capital. “FitOrbit combines human interaction, expert advice, and flexibility over a cloud-based platform enabling unprecedented affordability. The WellPoint partnership will bring the leading online fitness choice to the leading wellness programs made available by WellPoint’s health plans.”

About WellPoint, Inc.

At WellPoint, we believe there is an important connection between our members’ health and well-being—and the value we bring our customers and shareholders. So each day we work to improve the health of our members and their communities. And, we can make a real difference since we have nearly 34 million people in our branded health plans, and more than 62 million people served through our subsidiaries. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint’s plans do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare and in certain California, Arizona and Nevada markets through our CareMore subsidiary. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

About FitOrbit, Inc.

Launched in June 2009 by one of the fitness industry's reigning icons, Jake Steinfeld, of “Body by Jake” fame, FitOrbit provides real personal training, weight loss and fitness training for $10/week. FitOrbit empowers everyday Americans to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles by making personal training affordable, convenient and effective for the first time. FitOrbit members get a full lifestyle package, including an ideally matched trainer, a smartly personalized workout plan, and a realistic meal plan plus anytime, everywhere support. Each user's dedicated trainer provides the constant motivation, guidance and irreplaceable human touch vital to weight loss success. FitOrbit is available in various subscription lengths at FitOrbit.com. FitOrbit is also sold through diet foods leader Jenny Craig, retail giant Sears, and through fitness celebrities including Jackie Warner. FitOrbit's investors include WellPoint, Spark Capital, Polar Capital and Ron Conway. Based in Los Angeles, California, FitOrbit is a place where fitness revolves around its members. To learn more or to join, visit www.fitorbit.com.

About Spark Capital

Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs seeking to build disruptive, world-changing companies. Founded in 2005 by Todd Dagres, Santo Politi and Paul Conway, the firm is a tight-knit group of partners managing approximately $1 billion across three funds. Headquartered in Boston, Spark maintains an office in New York City and invests across the globe. The firm provides seed and early stage financing to emerging technology companies as well as growth capital to those looking to establish category leadership. Spark Capital invests across a number of key market segments including: advertising & monetization, commerce & services, cloud & infrastructure, social, mobile and content. Spark’s portfolio includes companies such as Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, AdMeld, OMGPOP, ThePlatform and 5Min. To learn more, visit www.sparkcapital.com.

WellPoint Contacts:Investor RelationsMichael Kleinman, 317-488-6713MediaJill Becher, 262-523-4764jill.becher@wellpoint.comorFitOrbit Contacts:Media5W Public RelationsAlexandra Jirstrand, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.