CMS Competitive Bidding Hurts Medicare Beneficiaries With Diabetes

EndocrinologyAdvisor, 18 June 2015

BOSTON — The competitive bidding program implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has reduced beneficiaries’ access to self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) supplies, resulting in increased mortality rates, according to a study presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 75th Scientific Sessions in Boston.

CMS implemented a competitive bidding program for diabetes supplies in nine pilot markets in 2011. CMS intended for this program to help reduce costs for Medicare beneficiaries while still ensuring access to devices and services, including SMBG supplies. The program was officially implemented in July 2013 after CMS reported that there were no negative health care consequences from the pilot program.

The National Minority Quality Forum joined with top endocrinologists to determine the accuracy of the CMS’s conclusions about Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes who require access to SMBG supplies. Read more.

Cuida Tu Don de la Salud

Cuida Tu Don de la Salud es una iniciativa pensada en ti para que puedas acceder a la última información y a otros recursos para el manejo de tu diabetes tipo 2. Ha sido desarrollada por Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., una de las compañías líderes en la investigación y desarrollo de medicamentos para el tratamiento de enfermedades crónicas como la diabetes tipo 2.

Basics About Diabetes

CDC, 31 March 2015

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in your blood.

Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Read more.

Sedentary behavior and prevalent diabetes in Non-Latino Whites, Non-Latino Blacks and Latinos: findings from the National Health Interview Survey

J Public Health (2014)

Background Sedentary behavior is associated with type II diabetes, though little is known about prevalence of this behavior across racial/ethnic groups or how it may contribute to disparities in diabetes prevalence. In this study, we examined the association between sedentary behavior and diabetes in a diverse data set, and explored whether differences in sedentary behavior across racial/ethnic groups could contribute to disparities in diabetes.…

Conclusions Sitting appears to be an independent risk factor for diabetes across racial/ethnic groups, though it does not appear to account for disparities in diabetes. Read more.

Diabetes Self-management Education and Support in Type 2 Diabetes: A Joint Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Diabetes Care, July 2015

Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires a person with diabetes to make a multitude of daily self-management decisions and to perform complex care activities. Diabetes self-management education and support (DSME/S) provides the foundation to help people with diabetes to navigate these decisions and activities and has been shown to improve health outcomes … . Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is the process of facilitating the knowledge, skill, and ability necessary for diabetes self-care. Diabetes self-management support (DSMS) refers to the support that is required for implementing and sustaining coping skills and behaviors needed to self-manage on an ongoing basis.… Although different members of the health care team and community can contribute to this process, it is important for health care providers and their practice settings to have the resources and a systematic referral process to ensure that patients with type 2 diabetes receive both DSME and DSMS in a consistent manner. The initial DSME is typically provided by a health professional, whereas ongoing support can be provided by personnel within a practice and a variety of community-based resources. DSME/S programs are designed to address the patient’s health beliefs, cultural needs, current knowledge, physical limitations, emotional concerns, family support, financial status, medical history, health literacy, numeracy, and other factors that influence each person’s ability to meet the challenges of self-management. Read more.

The National Program to Eliminate Diabetes-Related Disparities in Vulnerable Populations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds the
National Program to Eliminate Diabetes-Related Disparities in Vulnerable Populations, a five-year cooperative agreement to reduce health disparities associated with type 2 diabetes.

What Are Diabetes-Related Health Disparities?

Diabetes affects over 29 million people, or 9% of the population,
in the United States. It is the seventh leading cause of death
in the country and can cause serious health complications,
including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-
extremity amputations. The highest rates of type 2 diabetes and
its complications exist across particular groups of the population,
such as adults 60 and older, racial and ethnic minority groups
(i.e., African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American
Indians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, and some
Asian Americans), and people with low socioeconomic status
and rural populations. Read more.

Corpus Christi project inspired A&M’s Healthy South Texas 2025 initiative

Rio Grande Guardian, 5 April 2015

WESLACO, RGV – Texas A&M University System believes its Healthy South Texas 2025 initiative can reduce preventable diseases by 25 percent in South Texas by the year 2025 because of the success of a smaller project in Corpus Christi.

Starr Flores, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center Coastal Bend Health Education Center, spoke about the Corpus Christi project when she attended an event with visiting state legislators at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center in Weslaco.

The event at the Citrus Center, held in late January, was part of the Valley Legislative Tour hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. Read more.