Medicaid Coverage for the National DPP Demonstration Project

The Project

 
The Medicaid Coverage for the National DPP Demonstration Project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and facilitated by the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), was a landmark project to determine how the National DPP lifestyle change program could be provided to the Medicaid population using collaborative partnerships among state Medicaid agencies, State Health Departments, managed care organizations (MCOs), and community-based organizations. The ultimate goal of the project was to achieve sustainable coverage of the National DPP for Medicaid beneficiaries under current Medicaid authorities. The Demonstration was carried out in Maryland and Oregon, which were selected through a competitive process and funded from July 2016 – January 2019.

The Demonstration was structured to facilitate state agencies working with local partners, allow flexibility to test processes, and provide feedback on outputs and outcomes so that the overall impact of the models could be evaluated.

The structure and focus of the Demonstration were informed by numerous partners, including the Division of Diabetes Translation at CDC, Leavitt Partners, and an Expert Panel representing organizations that were selected either because of their familiarity with the National DPP or their expertise in the changing Medicaid landscape. These partners laid the groundwork on initial questions that were foundational to the evaluation design, including:

• What kinds of incentives or program supports can be offered to Medicaid populations to increase enrollment and retention?
• What is the impact of the National DPP lifestyle change program on the cost of delivering services in Medicaid?
• How can State Health Departments and Medicaid best partner in this effort?

As part of the Demonstration, NACDD and Leavitt Partners also carried out extensive exploration into coverage of the National DPP, including creating state profiles and conducting interviews with state Medicaid agencies, State Health Departments, public and private payers, national organizations, and CDC-recognized organizations. The intelligence and resources that came out of this research were used to build a platform from which to support Maryland and Oregon, and also begin the process of translating learnings to other states. This work occurred in tandem with the Demonstration, with ongoing dissemination of information via the coveragetoolkit.org website (released in year 2), learning collaboratives, and webinar and conference presentations.

The legacy of the Demonstration is the continued application of these learnings and resources in states across the U.S. to:

• Scale and sustain the National DPP in Medicaid
• Support states as they seek to establish coverage
• Operationalize the program within Medicaid once coverage has been established.

The project was underway in both states starting in June 2016 until its completion in January 2019. The overall project was evaluated, and the findings of the evaluation were presented in a capstone meeting in January 2019. The evaluation report, process, and results are discussed on the Evaluation page.

Content last updated: May 20, 2021