The Staggers Cost of Diabetes

Diabetes Is Killing Our Nation

• Currently, 65% of U.S. adults age 20 years and older are overweight and 31% are obese.1
• Being overweight dramatically increases the likelihood of having at least 1 chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes.1
• 1 out of 3 babies born in 2000 will develop diabetes.2
• If trends continue, we may see the first generation that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.3

Every day in the United States, diabetes causes an estimated:

• 225 amputations.
• 117 people to start therapy for end-stage kidney disease.
• 33 to 66 people to lose their eyesight.2

During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States:

• Today, more than 66% of adults are either overweight or obese.
• This trend is expected to increase as our nation grows older and larger.4
• As the number of obese Americans increases, so does their risk for chronic diseases like diabetes.

Diabetes Is Killing Our Healthcare System

Diabetes is debilitating to our health and economy:

• Diabetes is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.
• This chronic disease costs our healthcare system $174 billion per year.5
• Roughly $116 billion dollars go toward direct medical costs such as care and treatment.
• About $58 billion is due to indirect costs such as lost days at work and disability.
• In America, our healthcare system benefits from treating the many complications of chronic diseases like diabetes—not from controlling them.
• The human cost of an amputation is traumatic. It is also expensive. Such a procedure can cost more than $30,000.6
• Insurers tend to cover costly procedures like amputations.
• Insurers are less likely to pay $150 for a visit to the podiatrist. This visit could prevent foot–related ailments of diabetes.7

It is not uncommon for people with diabetes to experience problems getting services reimbursed that help manage their disease. An example is nutritional counseling. This service might cost as little as $75.7 Insurers will cover more serious complications of the disease, such as $315 for a single dialysis session.7

The message is clear. Wait until you get sick, and then you’ll get financial help to treat your disease. This focus on treating acute illnesses is one of the reasons we have a healthcare crisis.

Now, the future of our healthcare is in peril.

A sick patient can be an expensive patient. Something must be done to address how providers are paid for preventive services. If not, diabetes could become an uncontrollable disease with limited and detrimental treatment options for the patient.

References:
1. American Obesity Association. AOA Fact Sheets – Obesity in the U.S. Available at http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/
fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml. Silver Spring, MD: AOA, 2005. Accessed September 20, 2007.
2. American Diabetes Association. Complications of Diabetes in the United States; The Dangerous Toll of Diabetes. Available at http://diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/dangerous-toll.jsp and http://diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/complications.jsp. Alexandria: ADA, 2005 . Accessed May 18, 2007.
3. Carmona R. Hearings before the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 108th Cong (March 2, 2004) (testimony of Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, surgeon general). Washington, DC.
4. National Center for Health Statistics. Fast Stats, Overweight Prevalence. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2007. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm. Accessed May 18, 2007.
5. American Diabetes Association. Direct and Indirect Costs of Diabetes in the United States. Alexandria: ADA, 2005. Available at http://www.diabetes.org/
diabetes-statistics/cost-of-diabetes-in-us.jsp. Accessed September 20, 2007.
6. Kleinfield NR. Diabetes and its awful toll quietly emerge as a crisis. The New York Times January 9, 2006.
7. Urbina I. In the treatment of diabetes, success often does not pay. The New York Times January 11, 2006.

http://www.forahealthieramerica.com/ds/staggering-costs-of-diabetes.html

http://www.depsyl.com/

http://back2basicnutrition.com/

http://bionutritionalresearch.olhblogspace.com/