Treating Diabetic Complications Is Serious Money!
April 25, 2007 by Kendra James, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
We have all read about the growing epidemic of diabetes. I think some may poo poo the idea that it could happen to them. But when it is put into dollars and cents, those naysayers may be more likely to sit up and take note
- The cost of treating diabetes complications in the U.S. was estimated at $22.9 billion in 2006.
- 3 out of 5 people with type 2 diabetes have at least one other serious health problem related to their disease.
- The cost of treating the complications of diabetes averages $10,000 per patient per year, with patients paying nearly $1,600 of that out of their own pockets.
That is some serious money! If the education, treatment and “know how” is within our reach, why don’t we take full advantage of it?
“We have the tools to do it right, so it is clear that we have not focused enough on early detection, early and aggressive treatment, and prevention of complications,” he says.
The secret lies in each patient having to take responsibility for themselves. I have said before that we are our own best advocate. Be smart, be informed, get care. You only get one go around, why not make it a good one?
I saw this too and wrote a post about it. Pretty crazy huh? I don’t really see any signs of things getting cheaper either, its quite sad really. If you don’t have insurance, it is magnitudes worse
@Marston: Absolutely. This is why so many of our diabetic patients are “frequent fliers”. They can’t afford meds, supplies or even co-pays, then they get admitted to the hospital and have an even bigger financial issue. It is scary!
I have medical insurance and even with my copay I still pay over $200 a month for my medications and testing supplies. I don’t know about everyone but that is a lot of money to me.