CLEARWATER – Four YMCAs in Florida, three of them are in the Tampa Bay area, have been selected to be a part of an important demonstration project to prevent diabetes and save money.
They are the YMCAs of Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Venice.
An estimated one in three adults in the United States have pre-diabetes, although only 7 percent of those people know they have it, according to a YMCA press release. Diabetes is a leading driver in healthcare costs, with about $1 in $10 attributed to the disease.
To help counter these rising healthcare costs, YMCA of the USA is launching a demonstration project to deliver the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program to 10,000 Medicare enrollees during the next three years.
The YMCA received a Health Care Innovation Award by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation of nearly $12 million over three years to conduct this project. This award is the first of its kind where a public payer is investing in a chronic disease prevention program delivered by a community-based organization, the press release said.
“This innovative demonstration project is expected to save Medicare an estimated $4.2 million over the first three years and $53 million over six years and will take place in the 17 communities where the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program is currently available.
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