As it stands now, the dozens of federal agencies who impact diabetes are not required to collaborate, resulting in gaps in care and duplication of effort. To correct this, a bill signed into law late last year established the National Clinical Care Commission (NCCC).

The commission will bring together major stakeholders from inside and outside government – including patients – to coordinate national diabetes care. They will gather comprehensive information to best advise Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on national research, treatment, advocacy, and education goals.

Past efforts to improve coordination between governmental agencies have had a significant impact. In 1975, the National Commission on Diabetes led to a marked increase in government-funded research. This included the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), which showed that intensive blood glucose management reduces the risk of eye, kidney, and nerve disease.

The federal agencies to be represented on this new commission are:

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Indian Health Service (IHS)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
• Office of Minority Health (OMH)
• Department of Defense (DoD)
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Additional members from outside the US government will include physician endocrinologists, patient advocates, national public health experts, and non-physician healthcare providers.

The commission will meet two to four times a year and submit final findings and recommendations either within three years of the first meeting or no later than 2021, whichever comes first. We don’t yet know the membership of the committee or the date when it will first convene, but will update this page as we learn more.

All commission meetings will be public unless deemed otherwise. Notes will be recorded and we encourage you to stay informed of the commission’s decisions and proceedings. For more information, contact:

Clydette Powell, Director of Division of Health Care Quality,

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;

Telephone: 240–453–8239

Email address: [email protected] (please indicate in the subject line: National Clinical Care Commission).