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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Prior to President Barack Obama's signing of the Healthcare Reform Bill, the President signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. Because government spending is dramatically underfunded in regards to diabetes, this new legislation could help make the disease a higher priority among federal agencies, increase the investment in research and prevention, improve access to care and resources for screening and diagnosis, reduce health disparities, and improve coverage and benefits for people with diabetes.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes language identical to the Diabetes Prevention Act of 2009, which would establish, run, monitor, and evaluate community prevention programs based on the Diabetes Prevention Program's (DPP) clinical trial. The program includes language directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a biennial National Diabetes Report Card to regularly report progress made in the fight against diabetes to the American people; to assist states in improving statistical data tracking on death certificates to provide a clearer picture of the impact of diabetes; to direct the Institute of Medicine to issue a report on the state of diabetes in American medical schools within two years of enactment; and to authorize the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to modify the current Medicare benefit for dietary counseling services to be offered for both beneficiaries with diabetes or renal disease and beneficiaries with prediabetes.

SOURCE:

Novo Nordisk. Issue 1: Healthcare Reform. Novo Nordisk Bluesheet: Quarterly Perspectives on Diabetes and Chronic Diseases (Accessed 07/10)