“Patient Navigator” Legislation Will Help Expand Access to Diabetes Prevention a

Recently-enacted legislation, strongly backed by the American Diabetes Association, will improve outreach and coordination of health care services for chronically ill, uninsured patients in low-income and rural areas.

American Diabetes Association strongly supported legislation, recently signed into law, that will help low-income individuals take advantage of health care resources.

The Association supported the passage of H.R. 1812, the Patient Navigator, Outreach, and Chronic Disease Prevention Act, advocating that all individuals with diabetes need access to care that is both affordable and adequate. The legislation authorizes $25 million over five years for grants for “patient navigator” programs designed to provide patients with counselors – or navigators – who can inform them about treatment options, highlight the importance of prevention screenings, and help them get referrals.

President Bush recently signed the legislation, which was sponsored by Reps. Robert Mendendez (DNJ) and Deborah Pryce (R-OH) and Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), after it passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“Patient navigators know the community and know the health care system, and are in a unique position to help direct individuals with diabetes to the tools and services they need to properly manage their disease,” said L. Hunter Limbaugh, Chairman of the American Diabetes Association’s Advocacy Committee. “The patient navigator programs funded in this legislation will help reduce barriers and expand access to vital diabetes prevention and treatment tools and services.”

Despite the tremendous progress that has been made in diabetes prevention and management, not all Americans are benefiting equally from vital health care services. Today, diabetes continues to disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities and medically underserved communities. Without proper care and management, these individuals are more likely to face diabetes-related complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, adult-onset blindness, and lower limb amputations.

“This legislation will link sustained health promotion outreach efforts with prevention and patient navigation programs, a step that could help us begin to turn the tide of diabetes in medically underserved communities,” said James P. Schlicht, Chief Government Affairs and Advocacy Officer at the American Diabetes Association.

Diabetes is one of this nation’s most prevalent, debilitating, deadly and costly diseases. While 18.2 million Americans live with diabetes today, estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that one in three Americans born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

Approximately 42,000 people suffering from diabetes live in each Congressional District, and that number is now growing at a rate of 8 percent per year. In 2002, one in 10 healthcare dollars went towards diabetes care. The cost of diabetes in America in 2002 was at least $132 billion. The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy.

The Association’s advocacy efforts include helping to combat discrimination against people with diabetes; advocating for the increase of federal diabetes research and programs; and improved access to, and quality of, healthcare for people with diabetes.

The Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Founded in 1940, the Association provides service to hundreds of communities across the country. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

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FACT:
Night-Time Lows Are More Likely in Youth After Exercise: It is important for children with type 1 diabetes who exercise in the afternoon to modify the amount of content of their bedtime snack because they are more prone to overnight low blood glucose levels.
Abstract #260 ADA 65th Scientific Sessions

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