Hoping to build upon the successes of a pilot diabetes prevention program, the federal government will move forward with its plan to expand the model to all Medicare beneficiaries.
Back in March, the Department of Health and Human Services indicated it was planning to expand the program, which it said produced impressive results in an Affordable Care Act-funded demonstration involving the YMCA.
In that model, counselors helped coach individuals with high risk for developing type 2 diabetes to eat healthier and increase their physical activity. The counselors' efforts produced a 5 percent reduction in weight among participants and saved Medicare an estimated $2,650 per person, which was “more than enough to cover the cost of the program,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials note in a blog post.
Therefore, a newly released final rule from CMS officially expands the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program model to all Medicare beneficiaries starting in 2018.
“We know that fewer people with diabetes saves patients and Medicare money because they use fewer expensive prescription drugs and have fewer hospital visits,” the CMS post says. And most importantly, it adds, preventing diabetes will prevent patients from having to deal with a debilitating disease.
Private payers, as well, have stepped up their efforts to improve outcomes for individuals with chronic conditions. Aetna and drugmaker Merck recently teamed up in two ventures: AetnaCare will use predictive analytics to target interventions and coordinate care for diabetes and hypertension patients, and the companies agreed to a value-based contracts for two type 2 diabetes drugs. And for its part, Humana says that value-based Medicare Advantage arrangements are helping chronically-ill members get healthier.
The healthcare industry is also turning to tech to improve how patients and caregivers manage diabetes. A partnership between the American Diabetes Association and IBM, announced in June, aims to build Watson-based mobile tools to drive better diabetes-related clinical, lifestyle and research decisions. Electronic health records can also help providers flag undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes, research indicates.