The Jewish Community Center welcomed Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle and the American Diabetes Association as they hosted a community forum on diabetes prevention.
Morelle says that more than two million people in New York have diabetes -- that's 12 percent of the state's population. He says one in two seniors also have prediabetes.
The message at the forum was that small lifestyle changes can help prevent the onset of the disease.
Beth Smythe with the American Diabetes Association notes that the YMCA is a provider of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, or NDPP, which has been proven to prevent type 2 diabetes.
"What they're really working on is small behavior changes, eating better, exercising more, talking about stress management, all the things that everyone needs to do to life a healthy lifestyle," she says.
Vice President for Healthy Living at the Y, Laura Fasano, says the NDPP demonstration project with Medicare saved participant's money and improved their health.
"It saved per participant $2650 dollars and it improved the quality of life. It was the first time a demonstration project did both those things."
Irene Lytwyn of Webster participated in a NDPP program and says it has changed her life.
Officials are waiting for word on whether the program will be eligible for Medicaid coverage.
They expect more details later this fall.
Meanwhile, Morelle says diabetes is a growing health care crisis, and it's important to invest in wellness programs, rather than paying for care after a crisis.
Here’s Morelle with some more statistics on diabetes: