Medicaid member cooks healthy meal

South Carolina Medicaid: Managing diabetes

If you have diabetes, you're not alone. More than 103 million U. S. adults are living with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).1

Diabetes

According to a CDC 2021 report1, as of 2015:

  • 37.3 million Americans, 11.3 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes, and
  • 96 million have prediabetes

Living well with diabetes

More than 100 million U. S. adults are living with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the CDC.

Diabetes is a serious condition. It can lead to big health problems when it isn't well-managed. But when you take charge, you can help yourself live a much healthier life.

Learn more about living healthy

Humana Healthy Horizons provides information and resources to help you live a healthier life:

Diabetes: Are you at risk? 

High blood pressure (hypertension) 

Managing diabetes 

Diabetes complications

The buildup of glucose in your blood can cause diabetes-related complications, and:

  • Cause plaque (fatty material) to narrow your blood vessels
  • Damage the lining of your blood vessels
  • Keep blood from freely moving through your blood vessels
  • Slow blood flow to vital tissues and organs

To reduce your risk of these diabetes-related complications2, your doctor should, at least once a year, perform (and/or give you a):

  • Cholesterol profile test, to measure total cholesterol (e.g., total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)) and triglycerides in your blood
  • Dental exam, every six to 12 months
  • Flu vaccine
  • HbA1c test, to measure your blood sugar over a 3-month period
  • Kidney (blood) test, to check your glomerular filtration rate, which tells how well your kidneys filter
  • Kidney (urine) test, to check for a protein called albumin, which can help detect kidney disease or nephropathy
  • Pneumonia vaccine, if suggested by your healthcare provider
  • Retinal or dilated eye exam every year, to help find glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and other eye conditions

If you have diabetes, you should:

  • Ask questions about your treatment plan
  • Avoid or quit smoking3
  • Check, monitor, and record your blood sugar levels at home
  • Eat a healthy diet that includes nonstarchy vegetables and lean protein, AND fewer added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods4
  • Get the right amount of sleep
  • Limit salt and alcohol intake5
  • Manage stress
  • Reach and/or keep a healthy body weight6
  • See your healthcare provider, who will check your blood pressure, weight, and feet
  • Share your blood sugar level records with your healthcare provider
  • Stay active
  • Take medicines (such as an oral medicine or insulin) as prescribed

Go365 for Humana Healthy Horizons

Go365 for Humana Healthy Horizons® is a wellness program that offers you the opportunity to earn rewards for taking healthy actions, such as specific health screenings if you have diabetes.

For each eligible Go365 activity completed, you can earn rewards and then redeem the rewards for gift cards in the Go365 in-app mall.

Learn more about Go365 for Humana Healthy Horizons

Program Disclaimer

Rewards have no cash value. The monetary amounts listed above are reward values, not actual dollars. For some rewards, your doctor has to tell us that you completed the healthy activity. Once we get this information from your doctor, you will see in the app the option to redeem the reward. For any reward you qualify to earn during the July 2022-June 2023 plan year, we must get confirmation from your doctor by no later than September 15, 2023.

Go365 for Humana Healthy Horizons is available to all members who meet the requirements of the program. Rewards are not used to direct the member to select a certain provider. Rewards may take 90 to 180 days or greater to receive. Rewards are non-transferrable to other Managed Care Plans or other programs. Members will lose access to the Go365® App and to the earned incentives and rewards if they voluntarily dis-enroll from the Humana Healthy Horizons or lose Medicaid eligibility for more than one-hundred eighty (180) days. At the end of plan year (June 30, 2023), members with continuous enrollment will have 90 days to redeem their rewards.

Incentives and rewards cannot be used for gambling, alcohol, tobacco or drugs (except for over-the-counter prescriptions). Rewards may be limited to once per year, per activity. See activity description for details.

 

Sources

  1. “National Diabetes Statistics Report,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/php/data-research/.
  2. “Prediabetes—Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention-type-2/prediabetes-prevent-type-2.html
  3. “Diabetes and Smoking,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/risk-factors/diabetes-and-smoking.html.
  4. “Diabetes Meal Planning,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/healthy-eating/diabetes-meal-planning.html.
  5. “Your Heart and Diabetes,,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/diabetes-complications/diabetes-and-your-heart.html.
  6. “Healthy Weight,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/living-with/healthy-weight.html.

Further reading

“Diabetes Management: How Lifestyle, Daily Routine Affect Blood Sugar,” Mayo Clinic, last accessed January 17, 2023, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/ in-depth/diabetes-management/ART-20047963.

“Managing Diabetes,” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, last accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/managing-diabetes.

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