STUDY RELEASED BY AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION POINTS TO HIGH MEDICAL COST OF DISEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Susan Collins today commended the American Diabetes Association for commissioning a new study that illustrates the high cost of living with diabetes, in both medical and human terms. The study, Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2002, finds that "the annual cost of diabetes in medical expenditures and lost productivity climbed from $98 billion in 1997 to $132 billion in 2002. The direct medical costs of diabetes more than doubled from $44 billion in 1997 to $91.8 billion in 2002." The study was released today and will be published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.

"Clearly, there is a direct correlation the increased costs associated with diabetes and the growing prevalence of the disease," said Senator Collins. These new data should provide additional support to the idea that we need to continue to adequately fund research into a cure for this devastating disease. In the meantime, we need to do all we can to eliminate or greatly reduce 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."

According to the study, the nation spends $13,243 on each person with diabetes, compared with $2,560 per person for people who don''t have diabetes.

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