Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program: where are the suppliers?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Policy
• Chronic Disease Management

Background:

• The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) aims to serve the 48.3% of older adults with prediabetes.
• Program success hinges on sufficient supplier availability to ensure beneficiary access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the availability and geographic distribution of MDPP suppliers.
• To evaluate potential beneficiary access to MDPP services across different regions.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive analysis of MDPP supplier data from the CMS registry (as of July 2019).
• Mapping of supplier locations, types, and numbers to determine geographic coverage.
• Analysis correlated supplier data with beneficiary population data.

Main Results:

• Only 126 unique MDPP supplier organizations operate across 601 sites, averaging 1 site per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
• Seventy-five percent of states exhibit limited or no MDPP site availability.
• Community-based organizations, though fewer in number, constitute over half of all MDPP service sites.

Conclusions:

• Current MDPP supplier availability is inadequate, restricting beneficiary access to diabetes prevention services.
• Insufficient reimbursement rates are a likely cause for limited supplier participation.
• Urgent strategies, including enhanced partnerships and sustainable reimbursement, are necessary to improve MDPP accessibility.