The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis has been chosen to participate in a demonstration project to assess the effectiveness of the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program in lowering incidences of type 2 diabetes and reducing the cost burden of the condition on the health care system.
The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis is one of 17 Ys participating in the project that, if successful, could save millions in future health care costs and create an infrastructure for how community based organizations deliver health care services to the Medicare population with prediabetes.
The Y will be making the official announcement during a press conference, which will be held at 10 a.m., Feb. 19 at the Ransburg YMCA, 501 N. Shortridge Road. Following the press conference, the Y is inviting the public to a special health presentation at 11 a.m. and free health fair from noon to 2 p.m.
The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) led National Diabetes Prevention Program, is a 12-month evidence-based program that includes 16 weekly core sessions followed by monthly maintenance sessions. The program is delivered in a classroom setting by trained lifestyle coaches and provides a supportive environment where a small group of individuals work together to learn how healthier eating and increased physical activity can help reduce their risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Long-term program goals include reducing participants’ body weight by seven percent and increasing physical activity to 150 minutes per week.
“We have offered the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program for six years and we’ve seen great results and will now be able to reach even more people in need,” said Eric Ellsworth, president and CEO for the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis. “Participating in this project will not only help us further prevent diabetes in a population that is at great risk, but it will help shape the future of how prevention programs are delivered and paid for across the nation.”
YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), the national office for the nation’s Ys, was awarded a Health Care Innovation Award by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and selected 17 Ys to participate in the demonstration project. The award will help the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis recruit and deliver the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program to Medicare Fee for Service beneficiaries and track health outcomes for those individuals.
Because research has shown that programs like the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program can reduce incidence of diabetes among Medicare-age individuals by about 70 percent (compared to 58 percent for younger individuals), the program has been identified as a promising approach in lowering Medicare expenditures.
The demonstration project will take place in 17 communities where the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program is currently available and create an infrastructure for serving the Medicare population that the Y and other community-based providers of prevention services can eventually leverage nationally. The nearly $12 million grant to Y-USA will not only be used to help the Ys deliver the program, but it will also:
- Reimburse Ys, on a pay for performance basis, for delivering the program to at least 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
- Enhance technology platforms and call center infrastructure to determine and manage Medicare eligibility and process performance-based claims.
- Create national roundtable of partners that will help drive systems changes to increase awareness and enrollment into the program.
CMMI is part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – the federal agency that administers the Medicare program. CMMI fosters health care transformation by finding new ways to pay for and deliver care that both improve care and health outcomes while lowering costs. The Center identifies, develops, supports, and evaluates innovative models of payment and care service delivery for Medicare.
Call (317) 266-9622 to learn more about the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program and to see if you qualify or visit OurCauseIsYou.org. To learn more about the Y’s commitment to healthy living visit ymca.net/healthy-living/.
