Diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness, kidney disease, and amputation.
Diabetes Costs U.S. $83 Billion A Year in Hospital Fees
August 27, 2010
According to a recently released report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, diabetes accounts for more than one-fifth of total hospital spending, or $83 billion, annually.
Diabetes affects nearly 25 million Americans, and that number is expected to grow substantially every year. It's the fifth leading cause of death in America, more than breast cancer and AIDs combined. And according to a report released last week from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), it's a disease that’s costing Americans $83 billion a year in hospital fees — 23 percent of total hospital spending.
"Diabetes continues to increase both in the prevalence and the costs," says one of the authors of the report, Dr. H. Joanna Jiang. "It's a chronic condition, affecting almost the entire body, which can result in a lot of complications and make the patient high risk for hospital care."
Full piece: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/August/19/diabetes-cost-FT....
Type:
Of Interest 