New National Study Finds Most Americans at Risk for Diabetes Are Receiving the Recommended Screening

Analysis of more than 100 million claims highlights strong preventive care performance as diabetes rates and costs continue to climb, with leading states achieving optimal results

SAN FRANCISCO, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Most Americans with prediabetes are receiving the recommended annual screening for diabetes, according to a new analysis of more than 100 million health insurance claims conducted by Motive Medical Intelligence (Motive). The findings point to strong national adherence to preventive screening guidelines and underscore the U.S. healthcare system's growing focus on early detection and intervention.

Prediabetes — a condition marked by elevated blood sugar levels that have not yet reached the threshold for diabetes — affects an estimated 38 percent of U.S. adults. Global health experts project that prediabetes will impact more than 1 billion people worldwide by 2045. In the U.S. alone, the cost of diabetes and its complications reached a staggering $412.9 billion in 2022.

Prediabetes is a silent condition. Because it has no symptoms, many people are unaware that they have prediabetes. For these people, detection is the key as it represents an opportunity to halt the progression to full-blown diabetes and to avoid the later complications of cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, retinal problems, and nerve damage.

Professional societies, such as the American Diabetes Association and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommend that doctors screen for diabetes among individuals with prediabetes at least once a year. The evidence supporting these recommendations is well established. Large clinical trials have proven that screening and intervention improve outcomes.

The new analysis by Motive suggests that doctors are adhering to standard-of-care guidelines. Motive found the national underuse rate — the percent of U.S. patients with prediabetes who should have been screened for diabetes, but were not — is 8 percent, indicating that most patients are receiving appropriate care.

But physician performance is not uniform across the country. Delaware, Rhode Island, and New York have room for improvement with underuse rates in the teens (18, 16, and 14 percent, respectively).  By comparison, top-performing states such as Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota report underuse rates of just 3 percent, underscoring a significant opportunity to improve screening performance nationwide.

"This is welcome news," said Dr. Rich Klasco, Chief Medical Officer at Motive. "The data show that most clinicians are providing high-quality care for their patients with prediabetes. The state-to-state variation that we found demonstrates that nearly perfect adherence is attainable within our current clinical and reimbursement structures."

"These differences in physician performance between states should serve as a roadmap for our healthcare system," said Julie Scherer, Ph.D., Chief Solutions Officer at Motive.  "By standardizing workflows and leveraging existing tools, health systems can close the remaining gaps and further strengthen preventive care."

The study was conducted using Motive's Practicing Wisely clinical analytics system, which measures individual clinician performance across Appropriateness of Care, Quality, and Waste in 18 specialties, as well as primary care and pediatrics. By mapping closed-claims data to evidence-based standards of care, Motive's expert team can measure individual clinician decisions at the point of care, share actionable insights back to the clinician, and help improve clinical performance to drive real change across the U.S. health system. Practicing Wisely delivers essential visibility into how individual clinicians perform against evidence-based standards, benchmarked against their peers, enabling health plans and systems to more accurately assess risk, reduce waste, move toward quality care, and drive high-value outcomes at scale.

About Motive Medical Intelligence
Motive Medical Intelligence is redefining healthcare performance analytics with an emphasis on transparency, physician trust, and real-world actionability. Motive is the partner of choice for organizations committed to eliminating low-value care and thriving in value-based care models. Through its proprietary Practicing Wisely solution, Motive is helping the industry eliminate the $400 billion in annual waste in the U.S. health system, advancing the transition to high-value, patient-centered care, and achieving the quadruple aim. Learn more here.

Media: Supreme Communications for Motive Medical Intelligence:
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SOURCE Motive Medical Intelligence