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People at high risk of developing diabetes lost about 5% of their body weight in a YMCA program that federal regulators said Wednesday was successful enough to expand. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave YMCAs nearly $12 million in 2011 to launch the program, which includes nutrition and fitness counseling and lifestyle coaching for Medicare recipients. The funding was provided by the Affordable Care Act, which also marked its 6th anniversary Wednesday. (O'Donnell, 3/23)

It is the first time an experimental prevention initiative has met the financial test to become part of the huge federal health insurance program for older Americans. ... Sylvia M. Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said prevention programs of this kind “help people live longer, fuller lives and save money across the [health care] system.” (Bernstein, 3/23)

Burwell said the intervention program could also save lives for people who aren’t covered by Medicare. Some insurers and employers already offer similar programs to their employees and customers, and others could do so to help the 86 million Americans who have a high risk of developing diabetes, Burwell said. This is the first preventive service program from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation that has become eligible for expansion within Medicare. The health law created the center to launch experiments that would change the way doctors and hospitals are paid, building networks between caregivers and training them to intervene before chronic illness gets worse. (Carey, 3/23)

One of every three Medicare dollars is spent on patients with diabetes, according to HHS, and the prevention effort saved Medicare about $2,650 per participant over 15 months. That's more than the cost of the preventive program. (Kodjak, 3/23)