Michigan payers must cover diabetes supplies

CMs should brush up on diabetes education

Michigan recently joined California and Texas as one of 43 states that now mandate payers to cover necessary diabetes supplies and services. Gov. John Engler (R-MI) signed the law, which is the first health reform measure enacted in that state in more than a decade. The Diabetes Cost Reduction Act requires Michigan-regulated health insurance and managed care policies to cover the following:

• insulin;
• oral diabetes medications;
• insulin pumps;
• blood glucose testing supplies;
• physician and diabetes education services;
• other supplies related to daily diabetes management.

Case managers working in Michigan should be aware that the new law also requires health plans to develop educational programs designed to prevent type 2 diabetes in at-risk Michigan residents. That’s a tall order in view of a finding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta that more than 2 million Michigan residents are at risk of developing diabetes. The CDC further reports that Michigan experienced a staggering 67% increase in the incidence of diabetes over the past decade.