Diabetics are living longer—and leading to increased healthcare spending
Diabetic patients are living an average of 2.3 years longer with the condition than they were 20 years ago, but the extended lifespans come with a cost.
The American Diabetes Association estimates average healthcare expenditures per diabetic patient are $7,888 per year, meaning lifetime spending could “easily exceed $100,000” for a single patient.
“The fact that higher diabetes prevalence trends are now being driven by longer lifespans, rather than new cases, is an unqualified victory for public health. But this victory comes with a high price tag—particularly for older Americans,” Jeroen van Meijgaard, PhD, a researcher at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, wrote in a report.
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Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.