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Program Facts

1. The City of Milwaukee is making the Diabetes Ten City Challenge available to members of its self-insured benefits program, which covers approximately 20 percent of its 30,000 insured employees, retirees and dependents 
2. Initially, the program is being offered to individuals within that benefits program who already have been diagnosed with diabetes
3. Of the insured individuals eligible to participate, 40 percent are retirees and their dependents
4. Participation in the program is totally confidential and administered through the pharmacy network coordinator

Progress to Date

1. Pharmacists began meeting with patients in April 2006
2. To date, 38 participants are active in the program
3. Fifteen people completed the 6-month mark in participation and received a $100 credit toward their insurance premium from their employer
4. The City is evaluating possibilities for adjusting its benefits plans to be able to offer the program to a broader group of employees in the future

Pharmacist Network

1. Approximately 18 pharmacists, specially trained in diabetes care, are participating in the program
2. Pharmacist “coaches” meet one-on-one with participants to help them track and understand their diabetes
3. Pharmacy network participants include Aurora Pharmacy, Ye Olde Pharmacy (Glendale) and Walgreens, as well as a group of independent consultant pharmacists
4. Pharmacists see patients at participating pharmacies and at locations including City Hall and the Milwaukee Public Library
5. Pharmacists are certified in diabetes care through the American Pharmacists Association Diabetes Certification Program, presented by University of Wisconsin Extension Services in Pharmacy, or a similar program from the National Community Pharmacists Association
6. Julie Whipple, president of Use Your Medications Wisely, LLC, is pharmacy network coordinator and a consulting pharmacist
7. Management of patient co-pays and pharmacist reimbursement are coordinated by the City’s pharmacy benefits manager, Navitus, and medical claims administrator, CMS

About the City of Milwaukee

Population: 596,974 (2000 U.S. Census)
Municipal Employees: 7,000
Municipal Retirees: 5,000      

Relevant Statistics

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for 2004:

1. Milwaukee-area households spent an average of $2,653 of their annual income (5.1percent) on health care, compared to $2,496 nationally (4.7 percent of income). 
2. Average household income in the Milwaukee area is $51,958 compared to $53,109 nationally.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

1. 5.8 percent of Wisconsin adults have been diagnosed with diabetes (2004), compared to 3.9 percent in 1994, and 16 percent of Wisconsin adults ages 65-74 have been diagnosed with diabetes.
2. Each year, 200,000 people die of complications from diabetes, and an additional 100,000 are affected by blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and problems of the lower extremities, including amputations.

According to the American Diabetes Association and the National Institutes of Health:

1. 23.6 million people – 7.8 percent of the U.S. population – have diabetes.
2. 17.9 million people have been diagnosed and 5.7 million have not.
3. 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2007.
4. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2006.

Quotable Quotes

Mayor Tom Barrett, City of Milwaukee:
"We are pleased to be part of the Diabetes Ten City Challenge and to work with a network of pharmacists in our community to improve the outcomes for health plan members with diabetes. The City of Milwaukee is quite excited about the value of such an innovative program, both in terms of the improved quality of life that it offers employees, retirees and dependents, and the potential savings in overall health care costs for participants and the City."

Michael Brady, Benefits Manager, City of Milwaukee:
"It's great to be able to point to a real example when we talk about wellness, prevention and intervention programs and how they might work. All the experience we have had with the DTCC has been extremely helpful in identifying what our employees need and what other services or educational programs would be valuable to them and their long-term health. We are looking at ways to expand it so that all our insured individuals can participate."

Roger Oldenburg, President, Assn. of Retired Employees of the City of Milwaukee (AFSCME Ch. 48):
"I believe that those who participate in the Ten City Challenge gain a better understanding of diabetes and its treatment. I hope this enables them to lead a longer and better life."

Julie Whipple, Pharm.D., President, Use Your Medications Wisely, LLC, and coordinator of the Milwaukee Diabetes Ten City Challenge Network:
"The pharmacists are delighted to participate. They are looking forward to working with patients. This is a terrific opportunity to improve the care of diabetic patients utilizing pharmacists for their cognitive abilities. Until this point, pharmacists have had a limited ability to use their medical training."

Quotable Quotes from Participants

City employees:
"I'm tickled pink with the program. I like my pharmacist. I was diagnosed with diabetes four years ago and I'm learning a lot." "The most important thing my pharmacist does for me is she keeps me on track. I know what to do but it helps having her ask me each month if I am actually doing it."

Retired police detective:
"My pharmacist helps me to know what to do. It is the professional counseling that I find so helpful. When I met with him, I asked, 'what can you teach me about diabetes?' He replied, 'People with diabetes sometimes sit back and feel sorry for themselves. They don't do anything but talk about it. Talk doesn't feed the bulldog! Tell them to join the Ten City Challenge.'"

National Media Contacts:

Caren Kagan Evans
President and CEO
301-309-8487
caren@ecicommunications.com

Local Media Contact:

Eileen Force
Communications Director
Office of Mayor Tom Barrett
414-286-8504
eforce@milwaukee.gov