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CDC recognizes health insurer Triple-S for its pre-diabetes program

Triple-S announced it has earned Full Plus Recognition from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for its pre-diabetes program that promotes a lifestyle change following the guidelines of the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

“This designation is reserved for programs that have effectively delivered a quality, evidence-based program that meets all of the standards for CDC recognitions and additional retention thresholds,” the agency informed Triple-S in a letter.

This means that the Triple-S pre-diabetes program will retain its designation for five years, beginning in October 2022 through December 2027.

“Our purpose is to enable healthy lives and as we have in Puerto Rico one of the highest rates of diabetes in the United States in addition to a sizeable prediabetic population, we set out to successfully implement CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program for our members,” said Jadeyra Rivas, vice president responsible for the Department of Population Health Management at Triple-S.

“This program has been shown to be highly effective in reducing the risk of diabetes,” said Dr. One of the CDC’s studies of the National Diabetes Prevention Program showed that it reduced the risk of diabetes among participants by 58%,” she said.

Diabetes is a disease that affects the quality of life of those who suffer from it, leading to health complications that increase the risk of death.  In 2021, diabetes was the third leading cause of death in Puerto Rico.

To achieve recognition, Triple-S trained six employees, including health educators and nutritionists, as lifestyle coaches in educational programs in the United States that are recognized by the CDC. In addition, Triple-S had to show that 60% or more of the participants achieved at least one of the following criteria:

  • 5% weight loss 12 months after starting the group
  • 4% weight loss and at least 150 minutes on average of physical activity 12 months after the group started
  • At least a 0.2% reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C).

The CDC requires that active member data be submitted to them along with their clinical results every six months.

“This recognition is also an achievement of the participants and coaches, who even with the difficulties presented by the pandemic, remained firm in the program,” said Rivas, adding that an additional benefit of the program is that an important support group was forged among the participants themselves.

Those interested in participating in the program, which is free for Triple-S members, must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1C) between 5.7 and 6.4 during the last year.
  • Glucose between 140 and 199 during the last year.
  • Positive result in the “Pre-diabetes Risk Test.”

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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