The U.S. government announced that they are planning to expand a Medicare program to help Americans at high risk of developing diabetes.
The announcement followed a smaller trial of the Diabetes Prevention Program that helped Medicare patients lower the risk of developing the disease through weight loss. The health practices helped save the federal health program thousands of dollars per enrollee.
Current statistics reveal that approximately 30 million Americans have type 2 diabetes. There are also 86 million Americans who are prediabetics and are at high risk of developing the illness.
In the small trial, Diabetes Prevention Program participants attended meetings with a lifestyle coach weekly. The lifestyle mentor trained them in changing and developing long-standing dietary habits, behavioral changes and physical activities that will help them lose and control their weight. All these were aimed to lower their diabetes risk.
The Congress-authorized program was part of the Affordable Care Act where the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) awarded the YMCA an $11.8 million funding to conduct the trial in eight states.
According to HSS secretary Sylvia Burwell, the Diabetes Prevention Program helped lower the healthcare costs as well as prevent the development of the disease and help the 86 million Americans with prediabetes live healthier lives.
"The Affordable Care Act gave Medicare the tools to support this groundbreaking effort and to expand this program more broadly. Today's announcement is a milestone for prevention and America's health," added Burwell.
During YMCA's 15-month trial in eight states with 6,000 enrolled participants, 25.4 percent completed over 17 program sessions and 37.5 completed between nine and 16 sessions. Lastly, 37 percent finished less than nine sessions.
The participants who completed at least four program sessions lost 4.73 percent body weight. Those who finished at least nine sessions lost 5.17 percent on average. The HHS research team found that per enrollee, the program helped save $2,650 during the 15-month period compared to similar Medicare recipients.
To further see if a nationwide program is financially viable, researchers said that larger trials are needed. They added that the long-term health effects should also be measured.
Photo: Fit Approach | Flickr
