Participants in the programs earn miles by exercising and inputting their progress into Virgin Life Care computer kiosks. The points they earn translate into goodies. Like Steve Case, the founder of AOL who recently started Revolution Health after his family’s struggle with the health care system, Branson took a personal interest in health care and a belief that positive change can occur through private investments and turned into a business.

    Branson’s global health care efforts are focused, in particular, on reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. He was in New York on June 13 to speak on the issue at the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s sixth annual awards given to businesses that address these health threats in the workplace and the communities where they operate.

    Just prior to telling the audience of 700 global business leaders that these diseases can be eradicated with the concentrated efforts of the business community, Branson spoke briefly with Workforce Management staff writer Jeremy Smerd.

    How did you go get interested in the business of health care?

    If people aren’t being looked after well by their government, then private enterprise needs to step in and look after people. In the case of Virgin Life Care, we are encouraging people to stay healthy and rewarding them for staying healthy. We were very successful in doing it in South Africa using our health clubs and tying in with insurance companies and rewarding people for staying healthy. It worked incredibly well, so we felt the same thing was likely to be able to happen in America. And it’s early days, but my feeling is that it’s absolutely going in the right direction.

    What’s Virgin Life Care’s potential for getting employers to buy into the concept of rewards for healthy lifestyle?

    I think it could become one of the biggest businesses Virgin has, where you’ve got the individual getting healthy as a result of the health miles we offer, enabling them to get free membership to gyms—free or at very low cost. It’s a win-win situation all around.

    As an employer and as someone who is in the business of health care are you talking to employers about the pressure they are facing in terms of rising health care costs?

    I’m not because I’m spending more and more of my time on philanthropic things. But we have a lot of people in Boston who work for that company who spend a lot of time talking to CEOs, and we’re getting a lot of companies signing up.

    Are you planning on seeing filmmaker Michael Moore’s new movie, "Sicko," in which he advocates for a single-payer health care system?

    I very much look forward to seeing it. I’ve enjoyed his other films.

Workforce Management Online, July 2007 -- Register Now!