By Carol Zicker, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator, Horizon BCBSNJ​

Nearly one out of every 10 adults in New Jersey has diabetes. The chances are that you’re probably currently treating some of them. Even more likely, you have patients with prediabetes, an even more prevalent condition.

These patients need all the support they can get. And Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey is here to help you make sure your patients get the help they need.

Horizon’s Diabetes Chronic Care Program can extend the reach of your practice to help your patients – Horizon’s members – control their diabetes through education and support from a nurse care manager. Nurse care managers can help with navigation of the health care system and coordination of care.

Through the Chronic Care Program, patients have access to a team of professionals, including a registered dietician, social worker, behavioral health specialist and pharmacist. The program provides reminders for important monitoring tests, including dilated eye exams, foot examinations, A1C, LDL and microalbuminuria testing.

The Chronic Care Program is available to eligible Horizon BCBSNJ members of all ages diagnosed with diabetes. You can refer eligible Horizon BCBSNJ members to the Chronic Care Program by:

• Completing an enrollment form; or
• Calling the Member Services phone number on the back of their Horizon BCBSNJ member ID cards.

Treating diabetes involves managing an ever-growing list of antidiabetic medications. To assist you in selecting the most cost-effective drugs for your patients, Horizon provides an innovative software solution: Drug-Cost Decision Support at Prescribing (DDP) from Gemini Health. It delivers up-to-date medication and alternative cost information to doctors via patients’ electronic health records, helping patients manage out-of-pocket costs and reducing your administrative burden.

Learn more about the DDP here.

Taking a holistic approach to prevention

Approximately 84 million American adults – more than one out of three – have prediabetes. Preventing this from becoming Type 2 diabetes is critical to keeping New Jersey as healthy as possible.

That’s because diabetes remains a serious public health threat in the state. According to the New Jersey Department of Health, diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death overall in the state, and the fifth leading cause among Black, Hispanic and Asian residents. In real terms, that translates to nearly 2,000 deaths every year in New Jersey due to diabetes.

In addition to supporting adherence to recommended treatment through the Diabetes Chronic Care Program, Horizon has taken a broad, community-based approach to tackle diabetes. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey has focused on diabetes education in recent years, issuing 116 grants for diabetes-related initiatives.

For example, the Foundation has partnered with the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance over the past 10 years to support Healthy U, a program aimed at preventing childhood obesity through improved nutrition, increased physical activity and parental involvement. Today, the program is implemented in all 21 counties throughout New Jersey, reaching more than 40,000 children ages 3-13.

In addition, the Foundation has supported community clinics, such as the Parker Family Health Center’s (PFHC) diabetes program, which works to prevent the disease through education, awareness, screenings and referrals for high-risk individuals in Monmouth County.

As the prevalence of both diabetes and prediabetes threatens to grow, Horizon BCBSNJ is committed to collaborating with health providers all across the state to slow and reverse these devastating trends.