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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 1998
Contact: Susan Pisano at AAHP
202/778-3245

Lisa Marinelli at ADA
(703) 299-5506

Partnership Sets Aggressive Targets To Reduce Negative Health Consequences of Diabetes

(Washington, DC)-The American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) today announced a far-reaching new partnership to improve the lives of people with diabetes by dramatically reducing the negative health consequences associated with the disease. The joint initiative, at both the national and local levels, will combine the knowledge and experience of the ADA with the special strengths of managed care plans to promote screening, early intervention and state-of-the-art treatment for the populations they serve.

"This is an unprecedented effort in terms of its scope and potential to fight the disease and improve the quality of life for people with diabetes," said Gerald Bernstein, MD, President, ADA. "To steal a basketball analogy--it amounts to a national, full-court press against diabetes and its consequences."

To date, more than 200 health plans providing coverage for more than 75 million Americans-and more than four million people with diabetes-already have committed to participate in the effort partnering with local ADA offices throughout the nation; those numbers are expected to double. The ten-year program is based upon very aggressive goals, including reducing the rate of blindness by 40 percent, the number of kidney failures by 30 percent, the incidence of new foot ulcers by 50 percent, and the number of foot amputations by 40 percent.

"This program brings together the power of managed care plans to improve health with the expertise and community presence of the ADA," said Karen Ignagni, President of the AAHP. "Over the next decade, we will deliver significant improvements in the quality of care and quality of life for people with diabetes throughout the country.

Ignagni said the AAHP Board of Directors endorsed the effort in June. Since that time, the AAHP and ADA have been working to operationalize the program and to formalize their partnership.

The program, named Taking on Diabetes, specifically will use the combined power of AAHP member plans and ADA to promote diabetes screenings, establish community partnership programs, create work-site education projects, and identify and promote best practices for treatment. In addition, AAHP will develop a state-of-the-art diabetes information service, including a searchable database equipped with the most current research and reference materials.

"Fortunately, today, we have clear evidence about how to effectively care for people with diabetes," said JoAnn Sperl-Hillen, MD, Medical Director, Diabetes Care Improvement Project, HealthPartners. "Our challenge is to develop effective, comprehensive diabetes programs that utilize the integrated care health plans provide to improve the health of large numbers of patients."

"I think this partnership is going to make a real difference in the lives of people with diabetes," said Rodney Armstead, MD, Chief Health Officer at UHP Healthcare and Co-Chair of the ADA and AAHP Diabetes Work Group. "It will ensure that health plans across the nation have access to the best practices and programs for treating the disease."

"The Taking on Diabetes initiative will usher in a new era of health care for people with diabetes by building on the real-world knowledge health plans have gained from treating patients and expanding it nationwide," said Dr. James Snyder, Chief of the Department of Endocrinology and developer of the Diabetes Advantage Program at Sierra Health Services in Nevada. The programs developed by Sierra Health Services, HealthPartners, and UHP Healthcare are the kinds of models that will be made available for other plans to replicate as part of Taking on Diabetes.

Diabetes currently affects 16 million Americans, with nearly 800,000 additional cases diagnosed each year. Each year diabetes results in 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness, 27,900 kidney failures, 56,000 lower-limb amputations, and 187,000 deaths. Experts estimate that diabetes costs the nation $98 billion annually.

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The American Association of Health Plans represents over 1,000 HMOs, PPOs and other similar health plans that provide coverage for 140 million Americans.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the Association supports affiliate offices in every region of the country, providing services in more than 800 communities.