A Promising New Approach To Conrolling Diabetes Has Passed A Significant Milestone

In the first year long test of Merck & Co.'s diabetes drug Januvia, the results showed positive impact.

The tests showed that Januvia lowered a key measure of blood sugar when taken in combination with another common diabetes drug in patients followed for a year.

Merck's study, released at the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting in Chicago, marks the first time one-year data involving the drug will be released. Previous data involved patients with type 2 diabetes who were followed for six months.

Patients in the year-long study were broken into various groups -- those who took Januvia alone; those who took metformin, another common diabetes drug, and patients who received both drugs together. The study, which also looked at different doses of Januvia and metformin, involved 762 patients who had an average so-called A1C level of 8.7% at the study start.

A1C measures blood glucose or blood sugar for an average of two to three months. A level below 7% is considered good blood sugar or blood-glucose control for people with diabetes.

The study showed that 67% of patients taking a combination of 50 milligrams of Januvia and 1000 milligrams metformin twice daily achieved an A1C level of less than 7% compared to 44% of patients who took metformin alone. The study showed 48% of patients taking a combination of 50 milligrams of Januvia and 500 milligrams of metformin twice daily achieved an A1C level of less than 7% compared to 25% of patients on 500 milligrams of metformin alone. The study showed 23% of patients taking 100 milligrams of Januvia once a day reached an A1C level of 7% or below.

Januvia, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last October, is known as a DPP-4 inhibitor and so far is the only type of drug in its class that's on the U.S. market. In February, the FDA delayed the approval of a similar drug made by Novartis called Galvus.

Drugs like Januvia work by increasing the level of so-called incretin hormones in the body that help lower the blood sugar or blood-glucose levels. They work in a different manner than blood-glucose-lowering drugs currently on the market, including sulfonylurea drugs, which stimulate the pancreas to release insulin, and metformin, which works on the liver to reduce blood sugar.

A former Hispanic insurance industry executive and NSHP member is called a visionary for building a multicultural insurance agency, one language at a time, to serve people who are looking for health, dental and life insurance alongside agents who speak English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, Farsi, Polish or Ukrainian.

In an effort to help Hispanic individuals, families and business owners find affordable health care choices and get insured, former industry executive Leonor McCall-Rodriguez and a group of leading Hispanic agents have launched www.OneVoiceInsuranceServices.com, a website designed to provide insurance shoppers and the uninsured with in-language and culturally relevant information about health and life insurance products in California.

The challenge is huge because today, 6.4 million people in California do not have health care and 75% of the uninsured are from minorities. Nearly 60% of them are Hispanics.

Buying insurance can be challenging, even when you are fluent in English. And while we continue to educate our community on a grassroots level, we needed a different business approach to reach more consumers with the right insurance products and services.

McCall-Rodriguez firmly believes that providing access to professionals who can serve the in-culture and in-language needs of these communities will help alleviate this pressing social problem. The industry has clearly needed a new business model to address these populations across the United States, and this is why she created One Voice Insurance Services.

"I see this as the 'United Nations of Insurance,' where insurance agents come together under one home, to offer consumers a single door of access to the expertise they require to make an informed choice. We are educating our communities on a very important topic," says McCall-Rodriguez.

Established in 2007, she brought together a statewide network of successful insurance agents from different backgrounds under One Voice Insurance Services to offer insurance shoppers in-language, culturally relevant services. One Voice Insurance Services has an online portal at www.onevoiceinsuranceservices.com, designed to provide minority consumers and business owners with fast access to agents who speak other languages and can help them navigate health and life insurance products in California.

This model connects consumers with professionals who better communicate with them, easing the challenging insurance shopping process. Consumers who have limited English proficiency and also English speaking shoppers who are more comfortable doing business with an agent of their own culture can easily find quality affordable insurance products.

Independent agents of One Voice Insurance Services educate multicultural consumers about the insurance industry and offer products and services from the nation's most respected health and life insurance providers with services in English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, Polish, Ukranian and the Persian language of Farsi.

McCall-Rodriguez notes that consumers may come from countries where the government provides health care virtually free of charge and they may not understand why they need to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families, especially when they're not sick.

"Buying insurance can be challenging, even when you are fluent in English. And while we continue to educate our community on a grassroots level, we needed a different business approach to reach more consumers with the right insurance products and services," she says. "Even native-born English speakers can have a difficult time understanding the nuances of an insurance policy. By communicating in a customer's native language, agents develop a trustworthy relationship, better understand their needs, and explain how insurance will benefit their families and businesses," she concludes.

One Voice Insurance Services is working to expand across the US, raising industry awareness of how underserved emerging markets are in insurance services. Insurance companies have embraced the new agency, which directly addresses a market opportunity and works to provide a solution to consumers who seek access to health and life insurance in any state.

The Los Angeles-based online portal--which has focused initially on California, the country's most culturally diverse state--connects consumers to 14 bilingual, bi-cultural agent-partner offices located throughout the state. One Voice Insurance Services agents, who operate successful and well-known businesses in their communities, write policies from some of the nation's largest and most respected health and life insurance providers including Aetna, AIG, Allianz, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, HealthNet and Kaiser Permanente, among others.

One Voice Insurance Services is supported in its rollout by multiple marketing efforts, such as grassroots outreach, partnerships with key Hispanic and Asian non profits and community groups as well as a full PR campaign.

The story of One Voice Insurance Services and how this new business model changes the way the industry approaches LEP online insurance shoppers has aroused the interest of several leading magazines as well as many ethnic newspapers and TV stations.

McCall-Rodriguez has addressed the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce In Washington, DC on the topic of "Association Health Plans" on behalf of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and has been a speaker and panelist in the US Senate and at multiple industry and medical forums on health care reform, access to health care, the uninsured and health disparities as well advocating for immigration reform with faith-based Esperanza USA.