- Over 38 million people live with diabetes, and underserved communities experience a disproportionate impact.
- Over half of Americans risk facing at least one social barrier that affects their health, and knowing these obstacles can help clinicians better address diabetes.
- Employers can use health data to offer personalized support for employees with type 2 diabetes.
If you don't have diabetes, chances are you know someone who does. In the US alone, more than 38 million people have diabetes – about one in 10 – and the vast majority are cases of type 2 diabetes. Another 98 million have prediabetes. Undiagnosed cases likely push these figures even higher.
"It's a growing epidemic," said Dr. Donna O'Shea, chief medical officer of population health, UnitedHealthcare. "We've seen higher and higher rates of diagnosis despite many calls to action and significant efforts from public health officials and doctors."
Diabetes isn't just widespread. It's also expensive. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) reports that medical costs related to diabetes have risen 35% in the last decade. The medical expenses of people with diabetes are 2.6 times higher than those of people without it, with the ripple effects hitting employers hard — especially those that self-fund employee health benefits.
Beyond treatment costs, diabetes also takes a toll on workforce productivity. Missed work days due to diabetes cost US employers over $106 billion annually, adding to the urgency for employers to more effectively manage the condition within their workforce.
Many employers are now leveraging health data to develop a deeper understanding of how diabetes affects their employees. This data-driven approach allows employers to offer customized support for those who are at greatest risk.
What the data reveals about diabetes and underserved communities
The factors contributing to developing type 2 diabetes vary significantly based on geography and demographics. A 2021 white paper from UnitedHealthcare and the Health Action Council (HAC), which analyzed health care claims from 280,000 adults with employer-sponsored health insurance, found that men over 50 in lower-income groups have the highest diabetes prevalence. Meanwhile, those of Asian ethnicity have a 43% higher risk of diabetes, largely due to genetics and diet.
"Diabetes takes a well-documented toll on underserved communities, as well as areas of the country where access to clinical resources is limited," said Craig Kurtzweil, chief data and analytics officer at UnitedHealthcare's commercial business.
Disparities across certain groups are largely due to social drivers of health (SDoH) — non-clinical factors like access to health care, nutritious food and safe living conditions. SDoH can influence about 80% of an individual's health outcomes. And they don't just affect people living in poverty; a different study from the HAC and UnitedHealth Group found that 52% of adults face at least one SDoH risk, with 16% encountering two or more.
The white paper represented the first time a health insurance company used its data to analyze SDoH risks among people with employer-sponsored health insurance.
Employers must also recognize that these factors vary across regions. Health challenges faced by workers at a financial firm in New York City may differ significantly from those at an agricultural company in rural America. Even employees working for the same employer but living in different states may experience vastly different health outcomes. The UnitedHealthcare-HAC white paper found that some employees had a 55% higher likelihood of dying before age 75, depending on their location.
These stark differences emphasize the crucial role of data in helping employers support the health of their workforce. National insurers, like UnitedHealthcare, serving employer customers and members across multiple states have access to massive amounts of de-identified health data that can reveal patterns and disparities in employee health. When provided to employers in actionable ways, this data becomes an extraordinarily powerful tool for designing targeted interventions.
"With our data sets, UnitedHealthcare is positioned to help employers understand down to a subpopulation level exactly where the pockets of SDoH barriers exist. That leads to more targeted, precise and customized interventions for diabetes care, and in turn, healthier, more productive employees and lower health care costs," Kurtzweil said.
A personalized approach to diabetes management
One of those interventions is Level2®, a value-based care solution from UnitedHealthcare to help members with type 2 diabetes work to improve control of their blood sugar.
Members who are eligible for Level2 receive a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) as well as personalized support from a care team, both of which help to educate and influence members to make healthier lifestyle choices.
The powerful combination of the CGM and support from a care team can help members understand how daily choices, such as food, exercise and sleep patterns, affect their blood sugar. With this information, patients can be encouraged to make small but impactful changes.
In a study recently showcased at the 2024 ADA Scientific Sessions, 73% of UnitedHealthcare members enrolled in Level2 had a clinically meaningful improvement in their hemoglobin A1C measurement, demonstrating that Level2 may lead to sustained lower glucose levels.
For employers, the approach can help reduce overall care costs by improving employee health outcomes and avoiding costly complications, like heart disease or nerve damage, which can stem from untreated diabetes.
And if the value generated from the program is less than an employer's paid program fees, the Level2 Assured Value Program gives eligible employers back the difference.
"Level2 combines evidence-based interventions with real-time feedback from a CGM to help employees overcome the most common barriers to managing their diabetes and overall health, especially those from traditionally underserved populations," O'Shea said.
"Employers want predictability in what it will cost to treat type 2 diabetes," she added. "This is one way we are helping to support them."
Learn more about Level2's role in supporting safe and effective diabetes care.
This post was created by Insider Studios with UnitedHealthcare.
