A1c enables more exam times, pre-diabetics detection, and real-time insights

Take your meds. No heavy physical activity. No food after bedtime (fasting) if there is a blood draw.

These are typical instructions given prior to physician checkup and a life insurance exam. No breakfast probably isn’t a huge deterrent for your morning doctor’s appointment. However, most insurance exams are not done early in the morning, but rather fit into a schedule that is most convenient for the applicant resulting in a much longer and inconvenient fasting period. Adding A1c on your life insurance panel eliminates the need for fasting and allows applicants to select appointments times throughout the day.

In addition, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) refers to A1c as the gold-standard or ‘powerhouse’ test in detecting diabetics. A1c screening eliminates fasting and will detect those pre-diabetic and diabetic applicants. It is not affected by a recent meal like the glucose is

By eliminating fasting, more appointment times are available to life insurance applicants

Believing they must fast, many life insurance applicants look for those morning exam appointments. When early appointment may not be available the applicant might decide to push the exam out days until a morning appointment is available. If insurers eliminate the fasting requirement, applicants can capture the earliest appointment availability, regardless of the time of day.

This white paper evaluates the impact of fasting times. It shows the results of more than 18,000 life insurance applicants over the course of one month. It includes various fasting times of less than 8 hours to more than 8 hours. Results show that the average cholesterol and HDL cholesterol were consistent across all fasting time intervals.

Screening with A1c detects more diabetic and pre-diabetic applicants

As of October 2023, 50% of laboratory-confirmed diabetics failed to disclose their condition on the lab slip.  Age-specific non-disclosure rates ranged from 71% or more in 18-30 year-olds, to ~35% in the 65+ population.  In most age groups, prediabetics outnumber diabetics.

Historical A1c results from LabPiQture™ increases insights

By using data sources such as diagnoses codes, claims, condition-specific medications, and historical lab results insurers can increase detection rates versus more time-consuming information gathering like Attending Physician Statements (APS). HealthPiQture™ reporting gathers those real-time data sources, including historical lab results from LabPiQture™.

In a ExamOne study, diabetes and hypertension could be detected in roughly 90% of for-cause APS orders using only HealthPiQture™ data, in part because of abnormal A1c results found in historical lab results from life insurance applicants.

A1c is a powerful tool for insurers

A1c testing has obviously earned its moniker as a “powerhouse” test for insurers. Contact your Strategic Account Executive to find out how A1c can open up more exam times, detect diabetic conditions, and provide real-time insights through LabPiQture™ and HealthPiQture™.