Published: November 01, 2011
UnitedHealth Group Urges Americans to 'Know Their Numbers,' Marking National Diabetes Month with Campaign to Build Awareness of Diabetes Risks
MINNETONKA, Minn. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - November is National Diabetes Month, and UnitedHealth
Group (NYSE: UNH) is urging Americans to say "NOT
ME" to type 2 diabetes by knowing their numbers and getting tested
for blood glucose, cholesterol and blood-pressure levels.
These indicators - along with other factors including age, inactive
lifestyle and family history - may serve as warning signs for people who
are at risk for prediabetes or diabetes and that it is time to take
action to prevent the disease. For people with diabetes, the careful
monitoring of these factors can help them better control their condition
and reduce the risk of developing serious complications related to the
disease.
"There is power in information, and knowing your numbers is the first,
all-important step in learning whether you might be at risk for
prediabetes or diabetes and saying 'NOT ME' to these conditions," said
Deneen Vojta, M.D., executive vice president and chief clinical officer
of the UnitedHealth Group Diabetes
Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA). "UnitedHealth Group is
helping people prevent and control diabetes so they can focus on leading
healthier and more productive lives."
An Innovative, Multidimensional Approach to Tackling the Health
Care Issue of Our Time
Diabetes is taking a devastating toll on individuals, families,
communities, employers and the nation's health care system. According to
the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are nearly 26
million American adults with diabetes. More than 90 percent of them
suffer from type 2 diabetes, the often-preventable form of the disease.
CDC data suggest that another 79 million Americans - 35 percent of the
U.S. adult population - have prediabetes, meaning they are at grave risk
of developing type 2 diabetes. According to the CDC, one of three
children who were born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their
lifetime if current trends continue.
Prediabetes is characterized by blood sugar levels that are higher than
normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. People with
prediabetes often do not display any symptoms, yet recent research has
shown that some long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and
circulatory system, may already be occurring during prediabetes. More
alarming still, more than 90 percent of people with prediabetes and
about 25 percent of people with type 2 diabetes remain unaware of their
condition.
According to a report from the UnitedHealth
Center for Health Reform & Modernization, if current trends
continue, more than half of the nation's adult population will have
diabetes or prediabetes by 2020.
The impact of the diabetes epidemic in terms of both individual health
outcomes and strained financial resources cannot be overstated. The
disease has major implications for the long-term sustainability of the
U.S. health care system; in 2010 diabetes cost the country an estimated
$194 billion. If current trends continue, diabetes will account for an
estimated 10 percent of total health care spending, or almost $500
billion a year.
"At UnitedHealth Group, innovation is specifically focused on areas that
are of real concern in terms of sustainability in health care. We
emphasize our research and development efforts in areas that can drive
substantially better clinical outcomes and lower costs," said Tom
Beauregard, executive director of the UnitedHealth Center for Health
Reform & Modernization. "We are focused on the unfortunate chain from
childhood obesity to prediabetes to diabetes, because that chain may
represent more than 40 percent of the cost to the commercial health care
system, and it's all tied to behavior. It's preventable."
UnitedHealth Group and its family of businesses have introduced many
community-based partnerships, wellness programs and health plan designs
that encourage and empower people to take preventive steps and lead
healthier lives.
DPCA Programs Achieve National Scale as America says "NOT ME" to
Diabetes
The good news about our nation's diabetes epidemic is that indisputable
evidence has shown that early and aggressive intervention can reverse
the disease's course for people with prediabetes and reduce its
devastating impact on people already diagnosed. Lifestyle changes and a
5- to 7-percent weight reduction can reduce the risk of developing type
2 diabetes by 58 percent in people with prediabetes.
"NOT ME" from the Diabetes
Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA) is an employer- and
community-based initiative aimed at tipping the scales against the
epidemic of type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and obesity. DPCA was launched
last year through a partnership with UnitedHealth
Group, the YMCA
and Walgreens,
and has since expanded to include Albertsons,
Kroger,
Novo
Nordisk, Rite
Aid and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings subsidiary Home
Healthcare Laboratory of America.
The two core programs, Diabetes Prevention Program and the Diabetes
Control Program, are available at no out-of-pocket cost to participants
enrolled in employer-provided health insurance plans in select markets
through UnitedHealthcare
and Medica,
-
The DPCA's Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), offered through
the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program, is a group-based lifestyle
intervention program that helps people who are at high risk for
developing type 2 diabetes prevent the disease through healthy eating,
increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes. The program
consists of 16 core sessions, followed by monthly maintenance sessions
for up to a year. Classes are led by a trained lifestyle coach who
facilitates a small group of people in helping them learn about
behavior changes that help them reduce risk for type 2 diabetes. The
YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program is part of the CDC-led National
Diabetes Prevention Program.
-
The Diabetes Control Program (DCP) connects people with
diabetes with patient care pharmacists for private, one-on-one
consultations that provide education and support to help people with
diabetes better control their condition and reduce the risk of
developing complications from diabetes, such as heart disease, nerve
disease, blindness and limb amputations.
The DPCA programs are based on studies funded by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), and other federal agencies. These studies involved the
Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, which includes researchers
from the Indiana University School of Medicine and faculty and
researchers from numerous medical schools and research centers around
the United States.
These signature programs are now available in 46 markets in 23 states,
including: Alabama; Arizona; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia;
Idaho; Indiana; Iowa; Kentucky; Massachusetts; Minnesota; New Jersey,
New Mexico; New York; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode
Island; Texas; Washington; and Wisconsin; as well as Washington, D.C.
The DPCA programs will continue to roll out in additional locations
across the country through 2012. To learn more about diabetes and
resources offered by UnitedHealth Group, visit: www.unitedhealthgroup.com/diabetes.
"Almost 80 million Americans have prediabetes, and many of them will
face a future with type 2 diabetes unless they take steps to prevent the
disease," said Ann Albright, Ph.D., RD, director of CDC's Division of
Diabetes Translation. "It is critical that people at high risk for type
2 diabetes make the healthy lifestyle changes needed to prevent or delay
diabetes. Innovative public-private partnerships are helping bring the
CDC National Diabetes Prevention Program to communities across America,
to provide the effective help that they need to protect their health."
Dr. Albright will hold a live Twitter chat Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 11 a.m.
EST to answer questions about preventing type 2 diabetes and managing
existing diabetes. To participate, follow CDC on Twitter @CDCgov
or #CDCdiabetes. Questions can be submitted in advance at @CDCgov
#CDCdiabetes, or on CDC's
Facebook page.
To help people learn if they may be at risk for type 2 diabetes, more
information is available at http://notme.com/dpca/Home/Resources/selfIdentificationQuiz.html.
Diabetes Health Plan Promotes Engagement Through Benefit Incentives
UnitedHealthcare
Employer & Individual offers employers a first-of-its-kind health plan
designed specifically to help the rapidly growing numbers of people with
diabetes and prediabetes manage their conditions more effectively, while
controlling the escalating costs to employers that insure them.
The Diabetes Health Plan (DHP) offers financial rewards for following
medically proven preventive steps to help manage diabetes such as having
regular blood sugar checks, routine health exams and preventive
screenings. The DHP reduces or eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for
diabetes and prediabetes care, medications and supplies in exchange for
plan participants' compliance.
Health care costs for an individual with diabetes average more than
$11,700 a year, compared with $4,400 for employees without diabetes,
according to UnitedHealthcare data. The DHP not only helps people live
healthier lives, but also can save individuals up to $500 a year through
free diabetes supplies, diabetes-related prescription drugs, and lower
co-pays, while helping lower total health care costs for employers.
The DHP helps employees increase compliance with American Diabetes
Association guidelines by lowering or eliminating co-pays while
identifying people with diabetes and prediabetes through proprietary
claims analysis and optional enhancements to clients' biometric
screening events. Plan participants enjoy additional fund contributions
in exchange for treatment plan adherence. Employers enjoy reduced
long-term expenses and productivity losses, and increased employee
satisfaction.
" The Diabetes Health Plan works hand-in-glove with the DPCA's diabetes
prevention and control programs," said Beauregard. "Whereas the Diabetes
Health Plan is an employee health benefit plan, the DPCA programs
provide an adjunct network of care providers. These are distinct
programs that share similar goals of better engaging communities,
improving people's health and well-being, and reducing long-term
expenses. They represent a continuum of how UnitedHealth Group is
thinking about and tackling the diabetes epidemic."
Solutions to Support People with Diabetes and Prediabetes
UnitedHealth Group offers a wide variety of other solutions to support
people with diabetes and prediabetes through UnitedHealthcare Medicare &
Retirement, UnitedHealthcare Community & State and OptumHealth. Services
include programs to assess type 2 diabetes risk, free screenings, and
member education and outreach, as well as disease management and care
coordination programs to help health plan participants better control
their condition and reduce costs. For tips on diabetes prevention, visit http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/news/rel2010/Tips_People_with_Prediabetes.pdf.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth
Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company
dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making health care
work better. With headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., UnitedHealth Group
offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct
platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and
benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and
technology-enabled health services. Through its businesses, UnitedHealth
Group serves more than 75 million people worldwide. For more information
visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com.
UnitedHealth Group
Lynne High
952-992-5708
Lynne_m_high@uhc.com
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