CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield awards $1.76M to grantees addressing diabetes epidemic

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Nonprofit CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), among the largest healthcare companies in the mid-Atlantic region, has made a grant investment of $1.76 million to combat the diabetes epidemic, the organization said this week. 

The funds were distributed across 27 local health improvement coalitions, health councils and collaboratives working to address the upstream social determinants of health, or social and environmental factors, impacting the severity or likelihood of developing diabetes.

The investment is a part of ongoing efforts to address chronic conditions as part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's (BCBSA) National Health Equity Strategy. 

This round of investments is Phase I of CareFirst's $10.5 million plan, announced last year, to address diabetes.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

CareFirst President and CEO Brian Pieninck said that inequities in economic and environmental conditions "have a negative impact on the health and behavioral outcomes associated with diabetes prevention and control." He called for working with partners to improve the factors that contribute to the development of diseases such as diabetes.

In 2020, CareFirst worked with Socially Determined, a Washington D.C.-based healthcare analytics firm, to analyze social risk factors and identify pilot communities whose residents would benefit from interventions that prevent or treat diabetes through Phase 1 grant funding. 

Review of this health data within CareFirst's service area revealed that SDOH, such as food and nutrition security, housing stability, health literacy and other factors, have a significant impact on the likelihood of developing diabetes or prediabetes, with African American and Hispanic populations disproportionately affected by the disease. 

Organizations in the identified pilot communities were invited to submit a proposal for grant funding, including Baltimore City, Prince George's County and Washington D.C. (Wards 7 and 8). In addition, organizations outside of these pilot communities in Western Maryland, Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland, Central Maryland, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland were invited to submit proposals for their work addressing diabetes in CareFirst's service area beyond those identified for the pilot.

During this first round of funding, CareFirst prioritized grassroots organizations and local health coalitions promoting economic inclusion, educational opportunity, behavioral health, chronic conditions, and accessible, affordable, high-quality care to address root causes of health disparities and diabetes in historically marginalized communities. 

These financial investments are expected to strengthen organizational capacity, partnerships between communities and health systems, and support innovative interventions to address the existing work being done by local community health partners, said CareFirst.

THE LARGER TREND

CareFirst isn't the only healthcare organization making efforts to combat diabetes. Banner|Aetna, a joint venture owned by Banner Health and Aetna/CVS, partnered with Virta Health on a Type 2 diabetes reversal program earlier this month.The program is available for the more than 100,000 members in Banner|Aetna's fully insured and Administrative Services Only groups.

Virta combines personalized nutrition and virtual care to achieve normal blood sugar without medications. Its carbohydrate-restricted nutrition therapy is in line with recommendations by the American Diabetes Association, the company said.

In a competitive insurance market, the diabetes program gives the Banner|Aetna health plan an edge that's in line with the larger industry shift toward disease reversal.
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com