Nov. 4, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Employers are signing up for a first-of-its-kind health plan by UnitedHealthcare designed to help control the escalating costs of insuring diabetic and pre-diabetic employees and their families while improving their health.

The Diabetes Health Plan has been piloted in 2009 with three employers – General Electric (NYSE: GE), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Affinia Group. All three have either renewed or expanded their participation in the program for 2010. Employers such as the City of New Orleans and the American Postal Workers Union Health Plan will offer the plan to diabetic and pre-diabetic employees for the first time beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

“One of the best ways to control escalating health care costs is to encourage people to adopt healthier behaviors and take preventive steps. The Diabetes Health Plan is an innovative plan design that goes beyond basic wellness programs and meaningfully engages people based on their individual health needs,” said Deneen Vojta, M.D., senior vice president of UnitedHealth Group.

The Diabetes Health Plan goes further than traditional diabetes wellness programs by providing patients with financial rewards for adhering to certain routine preventive care compliance requirements such as having regular blood sugar checks, routine exams and preventive screenings, which can result in better self-management of their care. In addition to helping people live healthier lives, the preventive steps under the Diabetes Health Plan can help significantly lower a diabetic employee’s total health care costs, which average more than $22,000 a year, according to UnitedHealthcare data.

“Affinia Group’s health care program currently includes a number of health and wellness incentives for our people, and the new Diabetes Health Plan will be an excellent addition to this total program,” said Timothy J. Zorn, vice president of Human Resources for Affinia Group. “The educational component of the diabetes plan will be extremely valuable to our people in helping them understand how to take better care of themselves. Removing co-payments for diabetic medications and testing supplies and offering a program of continual follow-up will encourage our people to remain in close compliance with treatment plans prescribed by their doctors.”

Plan benefits, which can include some free diabetes supplies and diabetes-related prescription drugs, as well as lower co-payments for related doctor visits, could save individuals up to $500 a year in addition to their regular health care benefits.