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Pittsburgh, PA

The Pittsburgh Business Group on Health (PBGH), one of the first employer groups selected to participate in the Diabetes Ten City Challenge in 2005, offered participation in the Diabetes Ten City Challenge through its LivingMyLifeR(LML) Program. The Giant Eagle Supermarket chain in Pittsburgh joined the DTCC in the fall of 2006, and initially offered participation in the program to 6,000 non-union Giant Eagle employees.


Program Facts

  • 24 PBGH member companies that participate in the PBGH Prescription Drug Program are eligible to offer the LML Program to employees, retirees and dependents

  • Six PBGH member companies initially implemented the LML program, providing close to 1,500 people with diabetes the opportunity to voluntarily enroll in the program

  • The LML program rolled out in phases, with the first group of eligible participants beginning coaching sessions with pharmacists in April 2006

  • In January 2007, Giant Eagle began covering co-pays for participants from its corporate office and 146 company-owned supermarkets in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio


Pharmacist Networks

  • PBGH’s pharmacy benefits manager, CVS/Caremark, coordinated the pharmacist network for the LML program

  • More than 80 pharmacists, specially trained in diabetes care, provided personalized coaching to the participants in the program

  • Participating network pharmacies included a number of independent community pharmacies and chains such as Giant Eagle, KMart and Rite Aid

  • Pharmacists are certified in diabetes care with the proprietary American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Diabetes Certification Program.

  • Duquesne University School of Pharmacy provides certificate training to pharmacists

  • Giant Eagle pharmacists met directly with fellow employees and their dependents as part of Giant Eagle’s participation in the DTCC


Relevant Statistics

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Diabetes Association, 7.3 percent of Pennsylvania adults have been diagnosed with diabetes (2004), compared to 5.2 percent in 1994.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4), released in November 2005 (http://www.phc4.org/reports/diabetes/04):

  • In 2004, diabetes was the principal diagnosis in 23,725 admissions, accounting for 132,000 hospital days and more than $673 million in hospital charges.

  • 15.4 percent of patients with diabetes were hospitalized two or more times.

  • Multiple hospitalizations were more common among certain populations, including Medicaid and Medicare recipients.

  • The number of hospitalizations for diabetes grew by 8.6 percent between 2000 and 2004.

  • Approximately eight percent of Pennsylvania adults have been diagnosed with diabetes.

  • In the past five years, there were more than 115,000 hospital admissions for diabetes, which resulted in a total of $2.6 billion in hospital charges.


About the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health

Founded in 1981, the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health (PBGH) is an employer-led non-profit coalition of large, mid-size and small organizations representing over 60 member companies, more than 800,000 employees, dependents and retirees, and over $4 billion in health care expenditures. The organization promotes education, collaboration and innovation among members, and in the community, to drive and deliver value and quality in health care and benefits.




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