UnitedHealth Group will cover these services at no charge to plan participants enrolled in employer-provided health insurance plans, marking the first time in the country that a health plan will pay for evidence-based diabetes prevention and control programs.
This is an important finding for the 30 million people world-wide who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every year.
One out of every four Medicare dollars is spent on beneficiaries with diabetes, with a high percentage attributed to tertiary illness caused by unmanaged or under-managed diabetes.
UnitedHealthcare’s Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program and Diabetes Health Plan were recognized by the NBCH for their ability to help enhance health care safety and quality while reducing costs.
The most common service that doctors provided their patients with diabetes was instruction in, and evaluation of, self-monitoring blood glucose levels.