Lifestyle Counseling To Meld Into Treatment Regimens?

The USPSTF recommendations are already being practiced by some payers like BCBS and Aetna.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is now recommending coverage of behavioral counseling interventions for overweight and obese individuals with at least one other cardiovascular disease risk factor.

A corresponding “B rating” from the Task Force means the intervention will be considered a preventive service under essential health benefits covered by qualified commercial and public insurers.

After a review of 74 different trials, the PSTF concluded that behavioral counseling promoting healthy eating and activity have moderate benefits for CVD risk in overweight or obese adults — especially when it comes to diabetes.

While some studies showed minimal benefits, across the research most programs using a mix of pre-designed and individualized counseling were shown to bring modest improvements in patients’ cardiovascular health.

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Source: Government Health IT

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