Improving American Health Care by Better Managing Chronic Disease
Chronic illness – such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease – is our country’s number one public health issue, and a powerful driver in our country’s health care costs. Today, more than 133 million Americans live with one or more chronic conditions, accounting for more than 75 percent of our nation’s $2 trillion annual medical bill. *
WellPoint, through its affiliated health plans, is driving development and implementation of health intervention programs to help keep those with chronic conditions healthy, reduce progression of these conditions and mitigate complications for those with advanced illnesses.
More than 4,000 WellPoint nurses and clinical professionals reach out to our health plan affiliates’ members to help educate, support the management of conditions and remind those with chronic conditions to pick up medications or schedule follow up care. These efforts improve the lives of the people we serve, while reducing the financial burden of chronic illness.
Because of them, we’re seeing great progress. By helping members better manage chronic conditions, one affiliate reports more than a 10 percent decrease in inpatient hospital admissions and more than a 6 percent decrease in emergency room visits¹. Employers also have seen more than a 25 percent reduction in days of lost work productivity ².
Private insurers need the support of Congress to further our success in finding solutions for those with chronic illness. We urge Congress to strengthen disease management initiatives in public programs like Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP. And Congress can help improve the way we manage chronic illness by allowing insurers the flexibility to establish real incentives to encourage lifestyle choices and prevention to keep their members healthy.
To this point, the Congressional debate around health care reform has not addressed the underlying issues of cost and quality in our health care delivery system. As the national health reform discussion continues, WellPoint remains committed to leading the way toward the answers our country needs.
Sources
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Chronic Disease Overview; (www.cdc.gov/NCCdphp/overview.htm)
1 – Results from a 2007 annual report for a state health plan serviced by a WellPoint affiliate. Trends represent total utilization for health plan affiliate members identified with one of five chronic conditions managed through disease management programs.
2 – Results from a three-year internal study of disease management programs administered by a WellPoint subsidiary for diabetes, heart failure and coronary artery disease. For those health plans included in the study, service delivery began in September 2002. Study base size: 275,000.
