Free Diabetic Supplies

There are some new and innovative approaches to help diabetic patients better manage their diabetes. Diabetes has become the most increasingly common condition, according to a report by the National Business Coalition on Health.

At least 85% of health plans now offer support for health promotion and wellness programs at no extra charge to purchasers, and 56% of health plans available offer free biometric testing, according to the analysis of 130 HMOs and PPOs nationwide.

About two-thirds of plans offer disease-management tools and 72% of plans offer practitioner and/or hospital comparison tools on diabetes care. The report used data from the coalition’s standardized tool, eValue8, to measure and compare health plans.

Diabetes medical costs and lost productivity totaled $174 billion in 2007 alone. Each year the total increases, especially since the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in increasing rapidly.

“The emerging diabetes epidemic is a tsunami approaching and employers need to head to higher ground by investing in health promotion, prevention and diabetes-care management,” said Andrew Webber, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based National Business Coalition on Health.

The findings were released at the Health and Productivity Forum held by the Integrated Benefits Institute and National Business Coalition on Health in Los Angeles.