Don't let diabetes devastate your workplace

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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 38 million people in the United States have diabetes — and over 22 percent of them are unaware they have it. And more than 88 million adults (one in three) in the United States have prediabetes, which is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. The disease, which causes high blood sugar and resistance to insulin, is linked to unhealthy diets and a lack of regular exercise. And it is significantly increasing in a key age group: millennials. It’s one of the top-10 conditions affecting that generation and increased in prevalence by a whopping 22 percent from 2014 to 2017.

Both prediabetes and diabetes pose a significant financial risk to your business — more than obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and mental health. The American Diabetes Association^® reports that diabetes led to $237 billion in medical costs and $90 billion in reduced productivity in 2017. Indirect costs of the disease include worker fatigue, understaffing, absenteeism, and poorer performance. According to the HR Executive, the number of people living with diabetes is expected to more than triple in the coming decades.

With numbers like these, your business is likely not immune to the effects of this disease. However, studies have shown that providing tools and resources for your employees to manage this condition can significantly lower your health care expenses, improve employee productivity, and positively impact company culture and employee morale. Here’s what you need to know.

Accommodating employees with diabetes

First things first: let’s make sure you’re up to speed on how the American Disabilities Act (ADA) requires you to accommodate employees with diabetes. Diabetes typically doesn’t impact someone’s ability to do their job, and you may not even know which of your employees have diabetes.

However, the ADA states you must provide reasonable accommodations needed because of diabetes, effects of medication, or both. Not every person with diabetes will require the same accommodations, and most involve little to no cost for you. Examples include:

• Accommodating an employee unable to work while learning to manage their diabetes or adjusting to medication
• Setting up a private area to test blood sugar levels or inject insulin
• Providing sufficient breaks to eat or drink, take medication, or test blood sugar levels
• Making sure employees have a place to rest until blood sugar levels return to normal

Offering these and other modifications will help your employees be more productive and efficient while they are working. As an employer, you are not required to monitor employees to make sure they are regularly checking blood sugar levels, eating, or staying adherent to their medications. However, this is where investing in a diabetes self-management program and other education can fill those gaps.

Helping your employees manage their diabetes

While it’s not a requirement from the ADA, helping your employees manage their diabetes can increase productivity, keep claims costs in check, and cement the message that your company supports and cares for its employees. An employer-sponsored, diabetes self-management program can take many forms. Based on the needs of your employee population, it could include:

• Education about healthy food and lifestyle choices. You can point your employees in the direction of reputable, well-known sources that can help them manage their diet and exercise, like the Mayo Clinic and the American Diabetes Association^®, or offer one-on-one or group sessions with dietitians or nurse practitioners on how to stay healthy while living with diabetes.
• Digital programs and tools like Wondr Health™ or smartphone apps, which can help employees easily schedule medication reminders, track their blood sugar, monitor their weight, get tips and advice for living with diabetes, share records with their health care team, and more.
• Wellness programs can cover important topics in fun ways — for example, a cooking class that includes a component on how to read nutrition labels — that keep your employees engaged in lifestyle changes. Don’t forget to offer incentives for those who actively stay engaged in diabetes management, prevention, or reversal programs you offer.

You can also make small changes at every level that make it easier for your employees with diabetes to avoid temptation, like swapping soda bottles for water in vending machines or making sure office potlucks have a wide variety of food groups covered.

Diabetes prevention and management from Teladoc^® Health

Wellmark^® Blue Cross^® and Blue Shield^® has partnered with Teladoc Health, Inc. to offer two buy-up programs to large, self-funded groups.

• Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) is a complete diabetes prevention curriculum based on materials from the CDC that helps members improve habits to aid in lowering the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. It includes a digital, cellular-connected scale for members to easily keep tabs on their weight, one of the risk factors for developing prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. After 12 months of participation, average weight loss was 5.3 percent of their starting weight — and nearly half of all participants have lost more than 5 percent of their starting weight.
• Diabetes Management Program (DMP) is for members who have been diagnosed with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. It simplifies diabetes management with a cellular-connected blood glucose meter that gives real-time feedback and analysis. The program also uses a smartphone app that helps members track food, activity and weight, provides expert coaching and support from health professionals, and motivates them with evidence-based health challenges. It also provides unlimited strips and lancets that automatically ship when members are running low.

These programs are available in addition to Wellmark's existing support for members with diabetes, including the Case Management Program, myWellmark^®, healthy living content at Wellmark.com/Blue, BeWell 24/7^®, Wondr Health, and our well-being consulting services.

Questions? Contact your authorized Wellmark account representative, or email us at blueatwork@wellmark.com.