Health Costs
Medical Expenditures
Diabetes imposes a substantial cost burden to society and, in particular, to those individuals with diabetes and their families. Eliminating or reducing the health problems caused by diabetes through factors such as better access to preventive care, more widespread diagnosis, more intensive disease management, and the advent of new medical technologies could significantly improve the quality of life for people with diabetes and their families while at the same time potentially reducing national expenditures for health care services and increasing productivity in the world economy.
Direct medical and indirect expenditures attributable to diabetes in US in 2002 were estimated at 132 billion USD. Direct medical expenditures alone 91.8 billion USD and comprised 23.2 billion USD for diabetes care, 24.6 billion USD for chronic complications attributable to diabetes, and 44.1 billion USD for excess prevalence of general medical conditions.
Inpatient days (43.9%), nursing home care (15.1%), and office visits (10.9%) constituted the major expenditure groups by service settings. In addition, 51.8% of direct medical expenditures were incurred by people >65 years old. The cost estimate excludes undiagnosed cases of diabetes. Health care spending in 2002 for people with diabetes was more than double what spending would be without diabetes.
