American Diabetes Association

The American Diabetes Association’s Web site offers comprehensive information about diabetes for the public and for health care professionals. You can explore a world of diabetes information by clicking here:

www.diabetes.org

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) also describes its recommendations for testing adults for diabetes in its Clinical Practice Recommendations and in the Executive Summary of that report, available by clicking here.

This document, which is intended for health care professionals, provides comprehensive information on who should be screened for diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association also offer a toll-free hotline for answering your questions, at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

National Diabetes Education Program

The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is the federal government’s comprehensive educational program about diabetes prevention and control. It is a joint program of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Division of Diabetes Translation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The NDEP has extensive communication tools and resources in English, Spanish, and other languages spoken in America. Visit NDEP’s Web site by clicking here:

www.yourdiabetesinfo.org

The NDEP also offers a toll-free hotline for your use, at 1-888-693-NDEP (1-888-693-6337).

Medicare – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal government agency that administers the Medicare program. Medicare has a brochure specifically about the benefits provided for diabetes screening and treatment, available by clicking here.

Medicare also covers a “Welcome to Medicare” exam  that includes diabetes screening. This benefit allows a physician to review beneficiaries’  medical and family history, assess current health conditions and prescriptions, and conduct screenings to establish a baseline for future, personalized care.  Medicare has designed tools to help new enrollees understand their benefits available in both English and Spanish.

Medicare offers a comprehensive guide called “Medicare & You 2011” that is available by clicking here. This publication is the official Medicare handbook.

Visit the main Web site for CMS and Medicare by clicking here:

http://www.medicare.gov/

Medicare also offers a toll-free phone line for questions:

· 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) 24 hours, 7 days a week, including some federal holidays.

· TTY/TDD users can call 1-877-486-2048. However, the interactive phone system is available 24 hours every day of the year.