Savannah City Leaders Launch Medicare Diabetes Screeni...(our seniors to ask their health care pro...),Health

"Since 2005, Medicare has offered benefits for diabetes screening, but usage of these benefits has been minimal," said Charles Powell, Executive Director of the Community Cardiovascular Council, "and usage rates for Chatham County are particularly worrisome."

Nationally, the rate of usage was 9.6% for all of 2006 (the most recent Medicare data available at www.cms.hhs.gov). Usage rates in Georgia were substantially lower, at 6.8%; the rate for Chatham County, at 4.0%, was significantly lower still.

For people who are ages 65 and older and have one risk factor for diabetes, Medicare offers a free diabetes-screening test in a health care provider's office, with no deductible and no co-pay. If seniors are found to have pre-diabetes, they are eligible for another free screening in six months.

To encourage use of these benefits, the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project was conceived and launched in 2007 in Columbus, Georgia. City and community leaders in Columbus developed a model for public awareness and outreach, and that model is being adapted for implementation here in Savannah.

"Savannah elected officials and other leaders from the community immediately saw the need for the Project," said Chatham County Health Department Administrator Dr. Diane Weems, "and we have quickly developed ideas and networks for reaching out to seniors and their health care providers with messages of what Medicare offers for diabetes screening. This type of collaboration represents the best of Savannah."

The MDSP will reach out to Savannah-area primary care providers, to complement public awareness activities and directly inform them and their staff members about the M
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