Tech, Member Outreach Help Tackle Diabetes

From Health Plan Weekly

As health insurers become increasingly focused on helping their members get healthier, some are opting to target a chronic condition that's become an ever-worsening problem in the United States: diabetes.

Inter Valley Health Plan, a not-for-profit Medicare Advantage insurer based in Pomona, Calif., initiated a program called "I'm in Control," which borrows "historical inspiration" from Alcoholics Anonymous in that it's meeting-based and relies on self-affirmation and group support to promote behavior change.

Inter Valley Health Plan started its program in 2013 with high-risk diabetes patients — "unfortunately, not with much success," according to Kenneth Smith, M.D., chief medical officer and vice president of Inter Valley Health Plan. So the organization switched its focus to those with prediabetes and used giveaways such as water bottles and portion plates to get them in the door.

Members involved in the "I'm in Control" program have seen significant improvements in weight loss, body mass index and A1C metrics, Smith said, and they've been able to maintain those improvements. The initiative has also been officially certified by the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program.

Other insurers, meanwhile, are turning to technology to help combat diabetes.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, for example, said that starting this month it will partner with Fitscript, LLC, on a pilot program for its employer groups in Connecticut that will give enrollees access to a diabetes control program called GlucoseZone. The GPS-enabled program employs informatics and real-time data to help diabetes patients exercise while safely maintaining blood sugar levels.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan partnered with a company called Hygieia to help improve insulin therapy for members with advanced diabetes. In a pilot program, most patients using the service showed improvement in three months, and almost all achieved an A1C of less than 9%. The insurer has also seen cost reductions.

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