Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) is not getting a satisfying response so, lawmakers have urged federal officials to add telehealth to the program. A group of 19 senators have addressed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, asking them to make virtual care part of a Medicare-backed service. This service aims to improve health and wellness for roughly 84 million Americans at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
They are urging that connected health could change things. The senators wrote that a Medicare beneficiary’s access to the life-improving program should not, and cannot, be decided solely by the zip code in which the person lives.
Also, lack of access for eligible beneficiaries has the potential to not only depress enrollment, but also reduce potential cost savings.
CMS has done exceptional work in developing online resources to show where MDPP suppliers are located. But these resources show that there are geographic regions where eligible beneficiaries lack reasonable access to qualified supplier. Including virtual providers could empower these beneficiaries with feasible options for preventive, value-based care.
The original Diabetes Prevention Program was developed by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), and focused on in-person classes and one-on-one coaching.
Based on that model, which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CMS created the National Diabetes Prevention Program for Medicare beneficiaries and launched that program in 2018.
But this Medicare model doesn’t reimburse care providers for using telehealth or mHealth tools. Thus, keeping away many healthcare providers and public health programs from adopting this program.
A growing number of programs are using virtual care as a means to expanding the program’s reach, making the most of limited resources, and they are asking CMS to cover those services.