Rite Aid Now Offers Diabetes Control Program on Long Island to Help Fight National Diabetes Crisis

MINNETONKA, Minn. & CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Many Long Islanders with diabetes will now have a new and convenient way to manage their condition thanks to Rite Aid pharmacists now participating in the Diabetes Control Program (DCP). The DCP is part of UnitedHealth Group’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA), an innovative, community-based initiative aimed at tackling the epidemic of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.

“Rite Aid is a longstanding partner in the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. By expanding the Diabetes Control Program into Long Island, Rite Aid is helping more people with diabetes learn how to take control of the disease, make healthy lifestyle changes and improve their health”

The DCP is now available at no additional cost to Long Island residents enrolled in UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored health plans. DPCA services also are available to other health insurers looking for a cost-effective method to help manage the symptoms – and costs – of diabetes.

The DCP is based on curriculum that has been clinically proven to help control type 2 diabetes, and will be available at 27 Rite Aid pharmacies on Long Island. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 170,000 people with diabetes in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and more than 100,000 people with diabetes in Queens County.

Rite Aid will connect people who have diabetes and who are enrolled in the DCP with Rite Aid pharmacists trained in diabetes care and medication therapy management, offering private, one-on-one consultations that provide education and support. Pharmacists will also consult regularly with enrolled patients to evaluate their success adhering to prescribed diabetes regimens and to review patients’ test results for blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol. Proper diabetes management has been proven to help reduce the risk of developing complications from diabetes such as heart disease, nerve disease, blindness and limb amputations.

DPCA Services Available at No Additional Out-of-Pocket Cost to Enrolled Patients
Services offered by the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance may be contracted by any health insurer or plan sponsor. Currently, DPCA services are available at no additional out-of-pocket cost to participants enrolled in employer-provided health insurance plans through UnitedHealthcare and Medica in select markets. Plan members in the Long Island area who are eligible for the DCP are being contacted with information on how to enroll.

“Rite Aid's relationship with the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance is an important step to show our patients with diabetes that they aren’t alone when it comes to managing their diabetes,” said Robert I. Thompson, Rite Aid executive vice president of pharmacy. “Thanks to this innovative collaboration, Long Island patients enrolled in the Diabetes Control Program can now receive one-on-one counseling with a Rite Aid pharmacist specifically trained in diabetes care and medication therapy management – all at no additional out-of-pocket cost.”

“Rite Aid is a longstanding partner in the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. By expanding the Diabetes Control Program into Long Island, Rite Aid is helping more people with diabetes learn how to take control of the disease, make healthy lifestyle changes and improve their health,” said Deneen Vojta, M.D., senior vice president, UnitedHealth Group and chief clinical officer of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance.

UnitedHealth Group created the DPCA to help address the growing epidemic of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, which threatens to affect more than half of all Americans by 2020 at an annual cost of $500 billion if current trends continue, according to a report from the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization.

Diabetes Control Program: Reducing Dangerous, Costly Diabetes Complications
The DCP provides people with diabetes access to health care providers including specially trained pharmacists who provide personalized coaching and counseling in the convenient setting of a local pharmacy, and help patients improve adherence to their physicians’ treatment plans. The goal is for patients to improve blood glucose control – every percentage-point drop in HbA1c levels, a commonly used blood glucose marker, reduces by 40 percent the risk of developing complications from diabetes, which include heart disease, nerve disease, blindness and limb amputations.

Diabetes Prevention Program: Addressing Obesity to Prevent Diabetes
In addition to the DCP, the Alliance also includes the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), an innovative lifestyle-change program conducted in a group setting through the Y. The program helps people with prediabetes and who are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes prevent or delay the disease through healthy eating, increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes.

About Rite Aid
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with more than 4,600 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2012 annual revenues of $26.1 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at www.riteaid.com.

About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making health care work better. With headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. Through its businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 75 million people worldwide. Visit www.unitedhealthgroup.com for more information.