Study Shows One of Every Eight Health Care Dollars Spent on Diabetes in 2005

WASHINGTON–One out of every eight federal health care dollars
in 2005 was spent on treating people with diabetes, according to a
study released Tuesday by the National Changing Diabetes
Program.

The study, presented at a Capitol Hill briefing, found that
diabetes care cost the government nearly $80 billion in 2005, and
researchers said it could get worse: “Without strong federal
leadership, the human and economic costs of diabetes and its
complications–at least some of which are avoidable or
controllable–will continue to mount.”

To remedy the situation, diabetes advocates called on Congress
to create a “National Changing Diabetes Coordinator” to oversee
spending and align efforts to combat the disease across federal
agencies. They also said diabetes screening and early detection
should be a priority in all federal programs, particularly Medicare
and Medicaid.

Since 1980, the number of Americans with diabetes has doubled to
more than 20 million, and that number is projected to double again
by 2025. Complications from the disease–including heart disease,
high blood pressure, stroke, blindness, amputation and renal
disease–are largely preventable with proper management and
treatment, according to researchers.

But the study said the government is missing opportunities for
prevention and early detection of diabetes and its risk factors,
that programs already in place meant to promote these goals are
underused and that there is little cooperation among federal
programs to fight the disease.

According to the study, the government spends about $4 billion
on diabetes prevention and health promotion programs, only
one-twentieth the amount spent on treatment. While virtually every
department in the federal government–18 out of 21–has some level
of spending that impacts diabetes, the study found, there is “a
serious lack of coordination” across the various agencies and
programs.

“We are spending as much on diabetes as we are on the entire
Department of Education, but no one is leading the effort,” said
Dana Haza, senior director of the NCDP, a prevention and treatment
initiative of Danish insulin manufacturer Novo Nordisk.

Neither a new Medicare diabetes screening program that could
increase the number of early detections or a 10-year-old
self-management program that helps diabetes patients monitor their
glucose levels are being used to the extent they should be, the
study said.

“Coordinating America’s response to diabetes should be
mandatory,” said Lana Vukovljak, CEO of the American Association of
Diabetes Educators, who presented recommendations from diabetes
advocates in response to the study. “Over the next 30 years,
diabetes is expected to claim the lives of 62 million Americans.
Surely this health crisis warrants the appointment of a manager
charged with aligning budgets and programs for diabetes at the
federal level.”

Conducted by Mathematica Research, the full report is available
at http://www.ncdp.com.