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Everyone pays the high cost of diabetes
Registered nurse Susan Eager (R) teaches a diabetic patient how to draw her own insulin injections.
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This country has a weight problem, which has created a disease problem. Namely, diabetes. And that, in turn, has created an economic problem. A new study by the American Diabetes Association says the disease cost the economy an estimated $245 billion last year, a 41 percent increase since 2007.
And that big jump spending can’t be blamed on runaway medical costs. In fact, the cost of treating diabetes is actually rising slower than health care inflation in general. The big increase is the number of folks with the disease; five million people have been diagnosed with diabetes in the last five years.
“This is the heart of the health care crisis in terms of expenditures,” says Robert Ratner, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association.
His study found that one of every five health care dollars in the U.S. goes to treating diabetics.
“Individuals with diabetes are recommended to see a physician four times per year. They are on average taking anywhere from three to nine medications per day,” says Ratner.
Taxpayers pick up some of those costs.
“Already, one in three Medicare dollars is spent on people with diabetes. It’s an enormous cost to our health care system and to our economy,” says Cynthia Rice with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.
Treating the disease is big business for drug-makers.
“Two of the top 20 drugs sold in the country are drugs that treat diabetes,” says Ira Loss, executive vice president of Washington Analysis, a federal policy research group.
According to Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, a diabetes drug called Januvia, for instance, saw its sales jump 22 percent year to year. Lantus, another huge seller, was up almost 20 percent over the year before.
But diabetes also exacts high a high price in terms of absenteeism, reduced productivity and unemployment due to disability. According to the American Diabetes Association, that cost the economy $69 billion last year.
What can be done?
Robert Ratner believes the key to reducing diabetes is reducing obesity.
“Clearly we have a food industry that is out to sell food that people want to eat, not necessarily looking at the health qualities of those foods,” says Ratner.
Americans are attracted to restaurants that offer big portions because we’re looking for value. But to save money in the long run, it’s better to minimize, rather than Super-Size.
Sugar is not the cause of the diabetes crisis, Billions of dollars are invested in the "fake foods" which are the real cause of Diabetes.
The Fake food makers are promoted by the FDA and they all get rich. Aspartame, Sucralose, High fructose corn syrups are the true causes obesity and diabetes. The blaming of sugar is a set up to protect big business
The blaming of sugar is to protect the billion dollar diet soda makers and the other "fake food" makers.
Reverse Insulin resistance and the weight comes off and the diabetes goes away, this was achieved in thousands of people
See here
http://type2diabetesdietplan.blogspot.com/2013/02/can-diabetic-eat-sugar...”
I won't go on a crazy rant about the ADA and how they appear to do nothing to support people with type one diabetes, but it is discouraging that a spokesman for the association can't even take the extra two seconds to distinguish between type one and type two. Type two is (mostly) caused by obesity and is (mostly) preventable. Type one isn't and it can be really frustrating to be once again listening to a story about diabetes and to hear that I somehow might have been able to avoid this diagnosis. Outsiders might not know the difference, but we should expect more from people speaking for the ADA.
This report does not distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics and, as such, is a disservice to your listeners in general, and to those who suffer from Type 1 diabetes in particular. I have to assume the reporter refers to Type 2 diabetics, since the coverage focus is on obesity and workplace absenteeism due to various Type 2-related disabilities. Type 1 diabetes is typically contracted before a person reaches adulthood; it is a disease is triggered by the destruction of islet cells in the pancreas. It is rare for Type 1 diabetics to suffer from obesity, or for their employers and co-workers to bear the burden of workplace absenteeism. They do, however, suffer from sloppy media coverage and the consequential public misunderstanding of what differentiates Type 1 from Type 2 diabetes. Oh, and pay attention to Lomarican – the price gouging on every item in the Type 1 survival toolkit is the real kick.
Your lead-in to the story left listeners with the impression obese people cost Americans billions of dollars in medical care, and that Diabetes is a disease for only the obese. As an obese person I am so sick and tired of hearing stories like this. I have always been obese (per BMI standards) and have always been healthy. My doctor is confident in my good health as well. I have yearly screenings and have always had normal cholesterol, normal blood sugar, and normal blood pressure. Americans need to be given correct information when you report stories of this nature. Diabetes is what costs Americans billions of dollars in health care. More than half of Type 2 Diabetics are obese -- the rest are not. Why do we never focus on the latter? Just because one appears to be of "normal" weight, does not mean they are healthy. Just because one is "fat" does not mean they are unhealthy, nor does it mean they will get Type II Diabetes. And, why do people have scorn for fat people who have the disease, and give the thin people a pass? The same poor health choices can contribute to getting the disease whether the person is thin or fat. Still, we should have compassion for all people with diseases and stop discriminating against people just because they are fat. Misleading stories like this provide fodder to those who feel the need to perpetuate the myth that fat people are a drain on the economy.
I've been a diabetic for 37 years. I've never been over weight. I am a type 1 diabetic, that they say is hereditary. It is the pharmacy's and medical supply companies that are making the biggest proffit off of diabetes. Test strips that I used 6-8 a day, that cost less then a nickel to make, they charge anywhere from .50 to $ 1.00 each. Insulin that I can buy out of Canada @ $55.00 per vile,
cost $160.00 in the US. Medtronics make an insulin pump, and the infusion sets to go with them. They won't sale you a used pump, but will take your used pump back and refubish it, and resale it for 3600.00 dollars. A new insulin pump cost $6,000.00 plus. It's the medical supply companies that are making the huge profit. DON'T BLAM THE DIABETIC !
Obesity may not be the cause of diabetes; it may be sugar. See this piece from the NYTimes: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/its-the-sugar-folks/
