BILL REQ. #:  H-4459.1 

Read first time .   Referred to .

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Diabetes is now widely recognized as one of the top public health threats facing our nation today and affects more than 18 million Americans. In 2002, diabetes accounted for 132 billion dollars in direct and indirect health care costs; and
     WHEREAS, Diabetes now affects nearly 1.4 million Washington residents: Over 298,000 people in Washington have been diagnosed with diabetes; over 126,000 people have undiagnosed diabetes; and over 963,000 people have prediabetes; and
     WHEREAS, People who have diabetes need skills to manage their diabetes and skills to help them stay active in their lives. This training is central to diabetes prevention and care; and
     WHEREAS, Chronic disease self-management programs have a proven success rate, allowing persons with diabetes to better control their diabetes; and
     WHEREAS, Persons living with diabetes who are properly trained with self-management skills are better able to prevent the deadly complications of diabetes, which can include heart disease, stroke, blindness, lower extremity amputation, and kidney failure; and
     WHEREAS, Certified diabetes educators are highly trained multidisciplinary health care professionals dedicated to delivering quality diabetes self-management training; and
     WHEREAS, Evidence has shown that access to a certified diabetes educator improves the management of diabetes, a chronic illness that requires a high level of maintenance; and
     WHEREAS, Certified diabetes educators teach people with diabetes how to maintain the daily rigors of diet, exercise, meal planning, medication monitoring, healthy coping skills, and other factors necessary to control the disease; and
     WHEREAS, Certified diabetes educators are also on the front line of the efforts to promote prevention of diabetes; and
     WHEREAS, Congress recognized the value of diabetes self-management training when it began covering the benefit in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. At that time, most certified diabetes educators worked in a hospital setting and were able to bill Medicare for their services through the hospital's provider number. Unfortunately, during these tough economic times, hospitals are closing their diabetes education programs at a rate of two to five per month. This leaves diabetes educators without an avenue to provide or bill for diabetes education -services which are desperately needed to keep up with the growing number of people diagnosed with diabetes each day; and
     WHEREAS, Certified diabetes educators have received extensive training in diabetes management. They have met all criteria for initial certification, including a prerequisite qualifying professional credential in a specified health care profession, have professional practice experience in diabetes self-management training that includes one thousand hours of diabetes teaching, have passed a national examination offered by a certifying body recognized as entitled to grant certification to diabetes educators, and are required to renew the certification every five years;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully request that the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate enact Senate Bill 626 and House Bill 3612, known as the "Diabetes Self-Management Training Act." The Act will increase access to diabetes care by adding certified diabetes educators to the current list of Medicare providers, thereby making certified diabetes educators billable providers.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.