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UnitedHealthcare Expands Reach of Diabetes Prevention and Control Programs to Las Vegas and Clark CountyLAS VEGAS --(Business Wire)-- UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, is expanding the reach of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA), a community-based initiative aimed at tackling the epidemic of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. The health plan, in partnership with the Y and Smith's and Vons pharmacies, is bringing the DPCA's programs to Las Vegas and the surrounding communities of Clark County beginning immediately. The DPCA was launched in 2010 through a partnership with UnitedHealth Group, YMCA of the USA and retail pharmacies. UnitedHealthcare is the first health plan to offer the DPCA's programs in Nevada. The DPCA's programs will be made available at no additional cost to participants enrolled in employer-sponsored health benefit plans through UnitedHealthcare and its affiliates Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health and Life. This marks the first time in the region that a health plan is paying for evidence-based diabetes prevention programs and engaging pharmacists to support critical diabetes management. The DPCA is anchored by two evidence-based programs that are each based on curriculum that has been clinically proven to help prevent, delay the onset of and/or control type 2 diabetes:
In Nevada, 8 percent of the population has diabetes, and diabetes costs the state $167 million annually, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. Diabetes is closely tied to obesity, and according to the CDC, 63 percent of Nevada adults are overweight or obese. The prevalence of diabetes in Clark County is 8.2 percent, slightly higher than the state rate. Natonwide there are nearly 27 million adults with diabetes - 90 percent or more of them with the often preventable form, type 2 diabetes. Another 79 million Americans - more than a third of the adult population - have prediabetes, the precursor to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes cost the country an estimated $194 billion in 2010. If current trends continue, more than half of all Americans will have diabetes or prediabetes by 2020 and diabetes will account for an estimated 10 percent of total health care spending, or almost $500 billion a year, according to an analysis from the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization. "Diabetes is taking a staggering toll on children, families and communities in Clark County, across Nevada and throughout the country," said Don Giancursio, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual of Nevada. "The good news is that type 2 diabetes is largely preventable, and it is the small lifestyle decisions we make every day that have the biggest impact. These two programs provide an opportunity for people in Clark County to take control of their health. We look forward to working with the community to increase awareness of meaningful lifestyle changes that can help people improve progress against an epidemic that threatens our nation's health and its resources." To mark the launch of the DPCA programs in the Las Vegas area, UnitedHealthcare and the YMCA of Southern Nevada are holding a Community Forum today featuring distinguished panelists including Mike Lubbe, president and CEO of the YMCA of Southern Nevada; Lisa Chapman-Smith, senior vice president, UnitedHealth Group; Paul Tomasic, M.D., Southwest Medical Associates; Kay Lynn Bowman, Pharm.D., with Smith's, and Misha Osborne, Pharm.D., Vons Pharmacy. The forum, being held at 10 a.m. at the Bill and Lillie Heinrich YMCA in Las Vegas, 4141 Meadows Lane, is a call to action for the community to join forces to address the diabetes epidemic.
The YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program "Type 2 diabetes is an irreversible diagnosis, but a person can prevent or delay the disease before it develops," said Mike Lubbe, president and CEO of the YMCA of Southern Nevada. "The YMCA of Southern Nevada has the reputation, the roots and the experience to tackle this problem through community-based intervention, reaching people through their friends and family at the Y. The Y is in a unique position to promote healthy living and offer this solution to thousands of Las Vegas-area adults."
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