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Feds Approve Y's Diabetes Program Despite Drug Maker Opposition

  • November 03, 2016

More than a quarter of people age 65 and older in the U.S. have diabetes or prediabetes, and it’s a growing epidemic as Baby Boomers age-in to the Medicare insurance program. Desperate to find ways of stemming this disease, federal Medicare regulators have approved a payment schedule for a YMCA diabetes prevention program. It’s a program that doesn’t involve drugs, and the drug industry is furious, USA Today reports.

The goal of the new payment program, which combines nutrition, fitness and lifestyle education, is to get people healthier at a lower cost than the drugs it takes to treat diabetes and, so far in test programs at about 1,000 Y’s, it’s working. This really is a no-brainer. It’s been known for decades that you can prevent and even reverse type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise.

As evidenced by the fact that hospitals and doctors enthusiastically support this program, it’s obvious that Big Pharma is only thinking of itself and the money drug companies stand to lose if you lose the need for their drugs. It’s commendable that despite industry protests, Medicare officials are fast-tracking the diet and exercise payment program.

The truth of the matter is that type 2 diabetes is a fully preventable condition that arises from faulty leptin signaling and insulin resistance, both of which are directly diet- and exercise-related. It is NOT a disease of blood sugar. And that’s why I’m thrilled to see that, finally, the federal government has taken a huge step toward recognizing that the cure for type 2 diabetes has nothing to do with giving insulin or taking drugs.