Evidence is growing that effective management of diabetes can reduce complications and health care costs, while boosting employee productivity, reports the National Business Coalition on Health, which recently released a study on health plans and diabetes performance. 

Both employers and health plans have responsibilities for helping employees manage diabetes, NBCH concludes. Employers determine the benefits that are available to workers, while health plans have the clinical expertise to create incentives for patients and physicians. 

NBCH determined that employers expect health plans to: help them reduce barriers to essential medications for diabetes; help patients understand their medications and take them appropriately; engage patients in self-management and preventive health behaviors; and provide disease management programs. 

• 87% of health plans offer health risk assessments online and in print. However, only 2% of members complete one per year.
• 82% offered general reminders, 71% offered members specific reminders and 37% are using the Internet for online medical consultation.
•  More than 38% reduced copays for selected medications, tests or services for diabetic members, and 28% reduced deductibles.
• 77% use member reminders to support prescription compliance. 

Some strategies adopted by health plans to ensure patient medication compliance include live outbound phone calls (19%), automated outbound calls (11%), web-based reminders (21%), mail reminders (38%) and physician notification (36%).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 20.8 million people in the United State have diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes. It was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States in 2002, and it's likely the condition is often underreported, CDC notes. 

There are promising initiatives underway that could help employers better manage diabetes, NBCH says, including value-based benefit design plans – which identify incentives to increase compliance while maintaining cost sharing – and interoperable health information technology and quality and price transparency.