SAN DIEGO, Aug. 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- American Specialty Health (ASH) marked its 20th year with the announcement that enrollment has topped 13.4 million members nationwide. This growth reaffirms ASH's position as one of the nation's largest providers of complementary healthcare benefits and personal health improvement-related programs and services.
Established in 1987 by current president and CEO George DeVries and two partners, ASH was a driving force behind a health insurance movement that brought alternative healthcare -- including chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, and naturopathy -- into third-party reimbursement.
By 2002, ASH began pioneering employer-sponsored, telephone-based personal health improvement and weight management programs that were the early drivers of today's health coaching benefits trend. ASH's Healthyroads personal health improvement program is widely recognized today as a leader in this trend, providing wellness, weight management, smoking cessation, and fitness benefits.
"We were among the first to recognize back in the late 1980s that 60 million Americans were using some form of alternative or complementary care and were paying the entire cost out of their pockets," said DeVries, reflecting on the beginnings of his company. "We believed there was an opportunity for insurers to offer supplemental coverage, so we created a chiropractic provider network and sold access to health plans, much as dental and vision care plans are sold."
Today DeVries and 600 fellow employees work out of a comfortable 135,000 square foot building in downtown San Diego. His once tiny company now has more than 36,000 specialty healthcare providers nationwide and generates revenues of more than $128 million. Most importantly, the company has continued to be a leading health innovator.
"Our mission today is much the same as it was 20 years ago: to empower people to live longer, healthier lives," added DeVries. "The difference today is that we offer many more innovative products and services-such as personal health coaching and Web based tools -- to help people achieve that goal."
American Specialty Health Incorporated is the nation's premier personal health improvement organization, providing clinical benefits, fitness programs, health coaching and incentives, Internet solutions, and worksite wellness programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide.
Based in San Diego, ASH has over 600 employees and covers more than 13.4 million members. For more information, visit ASH online at ASHCompanies.com or call 800.848.3555.