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Medical nutrition therapy saves money by Suzanne Runtz Dietetic Services Diet-related diseases and complications consume a major portion of the nation’s health care costs.  Annually, $92 billion is spent on diabetes alone. In 1998, kidney dialysis cost Medicare more than $9.6 billion.  A study from the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, January 1999, found that dialysis may be delayed up to one full year for patients following a low-protein diet, and in some cases, delayed as much as four years.  A study completed by the Lewin Group for the Department of Defense estimated an annual net savings of $3.1 million if medical nutrition therapy (MNT) was included as a covered benefit in Tricare contracts. The cost of providing MNT would more than offset the costs in health care for nutrition-related diagnoses.  MNT has been shown to be effective in the management and treatment of many chronic conditions which affect Medicare beneficiaries.  An outpatient nutrition program, MNT provides patients with the skills they need to manage their disease through healthy eating and lifestyle.  A registered dietitian helps individuals enhance overall health and improvement in quality of life by reducing disease related complications, eliminating or reducing the need for prescribed medications, and decreasing hospital admissions.  The dietitian assists people in setting realistic and achievable nutrition goals to aid in saving health care costs, nutritional diagnostic therapy, and counseling services for the purpose of managing disease.  Providing outpatient therapy makes financial sense for both the patient and the hospital.  MNT is reimbursable for Medicare Part B recipients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, Gestational Diabetes and Non-Dialysis Kidney Disease on an outpatient basis. Coverage includes three hours in the first year for initial MNT and two hours per year in follow-up MNT.  MNT also provides physicians and the Medicare community with a valuable resource to assist in the management of diabetes and renal disease.  Medicare beneficiaries who have been diagnosed with either condition are eligible to seek a referral from their physician to see a registered dietitian.  For more information about MUSC nutrition services, visit http://www.nutrition.musc.edu.            Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.