The American Medical Association (AMA) has officially adopted a policy to encourage private and public health plans to include access to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) evidenced-based National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) as a covered benefit for their beneficiaries.
“More than 86 million Americans are currently living with prediabetes and nearly 90% of them are unaware they have it and are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. We have a proven way to help these people make necessary lifestyle changes that can help them avoid developing the disease, but health coverage for these programs is limited and varies by location and insurer,” said incoming AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, MD, in a statement. “We urge both private and public healthcare payors to offer the diabetes prevention program under their health plans to give more people access to these proven programs.”
Additionally, the new policy encourages hospitals to offer the program to their patients and supports allocating community benefit dollars to cover the cost of enrolling patients in an in-person or virtual DPP. Under this policy, the AMA will reach out to organizations such as the American Hospital Association and others to develop and disseminate guidance for covering the costs of the CDC’s diabetes prevention program using community benefit dollars.
The new policy adopted today expands on the AMA’s ongoing efforts to prevent type 2 diabetes. The AMA has been focusing its efforts over the last two and a half years on increasing awareness of prediabetes and encouraging more physicians to screen their at-risk patients for prediabetes and refer them to CDC-recognized diabetes prevention programs in their communities. Research shows that up to one-third of individuals with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years unless they lose weight through healthy eating and increased physical activity.
As part of its efforts to improve the health of the nation, the AMA will continue to support and advocate for policies aimed at reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes and reducing the fiscal burden associated with the disease.
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