Encouraged by the success of a pilot diabetes prevention program, which showed a 5 percent reduction in weight among participants and saved Medicare an estimated $2,650 per person, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expanding its model to all Medicare beneficiaries.
“We know that fewer people with diabetes saves patients and Medicare money because they use fewer expensive prescription drugs and have fewer hospital visits,” CMS officials wrote in a blog last week. “And most importantly by preventing diabetes patients and families across the country can avoid suffering from a debilitating disease.”
CMS officially extended the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program model to all Medicare beneficiaries starting in 2018 in a final rule.
The final rule follows a pilot model with the YMCA of USA using $11.8 million in funding under the Affordable Care Act. YMCA enrolled eligible Medicare beneficiaries at high risk for diabetes in a lifestyle coaching program focused on improving diet and increasing physical activity.
Participants lost about 5 percent of their body weight, and more than 80 percent attended at least four weekly sessions. Compared with similar beneficiaries not it the program, Medicare estimated savings of $2,650 for each enrollee over a 15-month period, more than enough to cover the cost of the program, according to CMS.
"This program has been shown to reduce healthcare costs and help prevent diabetes,” DHHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement in March. “Medicare, employers and private insurers can use [the model] to help 86 million Americans live healthier.”
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