$217 Million Price Tag For Diabetes
Study Finds Cost of Diabetes in the U.S. Exceeds $217 Billion
Current Cost Figures Only Include Diagnosed Patients
According to findings in a National Diabetes Economic Barometer study undiagnosed, pre-diabetes and diabetes cost the U.S. $217.5 billion last year, due to higher medical costs and lost productivity.
Beyond the approximately $174 Billion that is generally-accepted as the cost of diabetes in 2007, another $18 billion was spent on 6.3 million people with diabetes that was undiagnosed; US$25 billion for 57 Million Americans with pre-diabetes; and $623 million for the 180,000 pregnancies with gestational diabetes.
The National Diabetes Economic Barometer research is conducted by The Lewin Group, commissioned by the (NCDP) National Changing Diabetes Program, created by Novo Nordisk to improve the lives of diabetics.
As a leading source of health insurance, covering about 158 million adults in America, employers are beginning to feel the financial toll. Businesses can take steps to help reduce these negative consequences though by focusing efforts on prevention and detection of diabetes.
“In individuals with pre-diabetes, we observed significant increases in ambulatory visits for a wide variety of medical conditions, including hypertension, endocrine, metabolic and kidney complications,” says Tim Dall, vice president at The Lewin Group. “The data shows that during the two years before diagnosis people exhibit an increase in ambulatory and hospitalization for diabetes-related complications.”
“We encourage businesses to take action to reduce the devastating economic consequences of this disease by learning about their workforce, engaging their employees, and making purchasing decisions that will encourage better health choices,” said Dana Haza, senior director of the National Changing Diabetes Program. “Companies can help their employees learn how to better manage their health, and businesses can potentially cut down on their own health care spending while improving the quality of life of employees.”
“Novo Nordisk is committed to defeating diabetes, but we can’t do it alone. We started the National Changing Diabetes® Program to bring together the many different groups and organizations it will take to beat this disease,” said Jerzy Gruhn, president of Novo Nordisk Inc., the world leader in diabetes care. “As the leading source of healthcare for Americans, businesses have the ability to change the direction of diabetes by tailoring benefits toward prevention, education and access to treatment.”
At a Forbes Innovation in Healthcare Forum, which is sponsored by Novo Nordisk’s National Changing Diabetes Program today, the top executives from large U.S. employers discussed the critical role of business in addressing the diabetes epidemic and protecting the health of our nation’s workforce.
The NDEB,National Diabetes Economic Barometer, is the second in a series of studies that comprise NCDP’s National Diabetes - Triple Barometer, a research program to benchmark the current economic and clinical state of diabetes in the United States.
More information about the National Diabetes Economic Barometer and the National Changing Diabetes® Program is available online at www.ncdp.com.
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About the National Diabetes Triple Barometer
Diabetes is an escalating health crisis in the United States. More than 20 million Americans suffer from diabetes and that number is projected to double by 2025. In 2007, the National Changing Diabetes® Program undertook a multi-phase initiative – the National Diabetes Triple Barometer – designed to evaluate the current state of diabetes in America in three critical indicators: societal, economic and clinical. After all three barometers are complete, they will be packaged and serve as a comprehensive, authoritative national benchmark and measurement system to create behavior change, drive policy change and catalyze momentum for further strategic system improvements.
About the National Changing Diabetes® Program
The National Changing Diabetes® Program (NCDP) is a multi-faceted initiative that brings together innovators in diabetes education, treatment and policy to improve the lives of people with diabetes. NCDP strives to create change in the U.S. health care system to provide dramatic improvement in the prevention and care of diabetes. Launched in 2005, NCDP is a program of Novo Nordisk. For more information, please visit www.ncdp.com.
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company with an 85-year history of innovation and achievement in diabetes care. The company has the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems. In addition to diabetes care, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy, and hormone therapy for women. Novo Nordisk’s business is driven by the Triple Bottom Line: a commitment to social responsibility to employees and customers, environmental soundness and economic success. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs more than 26,000 employees in 80 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London. Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NVO’. For global information, visit novonordisk.com; for United States information, visit novonordisk-us.com.
For further information please contact:
Sean Clements
Novo Nordisk
(609) 514-8400
secl@novonordisk.com
