Medicare covers the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program once in your lifetime, if all of these conditions apply to you:
- You have Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) or a Medicare Advantage Plan
- Within 12 months of your first session, you have either a:
- Hemoglobin A1c test result between 5.7 and 6.4%
- Fasting plasma glucose of 110-125mg/dL
- 2-hour plasma glucose of 140-199 mg/dL (oral glucose tolerant test)
- You have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more (BMI of 23 or more if you’re Asian).
- You have no history of type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- You've never been diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
- You've never participated in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program.
Your costs in Original Medicare
You pay nothing for this program if you're eligible.
What it is
The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program is a proven health behavior change program to help you prevent type 2 diabetes.
The program begins with 6 months of weekly group sessions. In these sessions, you’ll get:
- Training to make realistic, lasting behavior changes around diet and exercise
- Tips on how to get more exercise
- Strategies to control your weight
- A specially trained coach to help keep you motivated
- Support from people with similar goals and challenges
Once you complete the weekly sessions, you’ll get 6 monthly follow-up sessions to help you maintain healthy habits.
If you started the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program in 2021 or earlier, you'll get 12 more monthly sessions if you meet certain weight loss goals.
Things to know
You can get these services from an approved Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program supplier. These suppliers may be traditional health care providers or organizations like community centers or faith-based organizations. To find a supplier, use the search at the top of this page.