It's National Diabetes Month. More than 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes - how does that impact their healthcare costs?

Answer:  $19,736, of which $12,022 is attributable to diabetes.

That’s 2.6x the costs for someone without diabetes!

Questions:

• Are you surprised by the cost? Why or why not?
• What impacts do you think these high healthcare costs have for a person with diabetes?
• Insulin is used in diabetes treatment. It is very expensive in the U.S. Hypothesize: what factors might cause high insulin prices, compared to other countries?
• What do you think could reduce healthcare costs for people with diabetes?

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (PubMed):

"The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. in 2022 is $412.9 billion, including $306.6 billion in direct medical costs and $106.3 billion in indirect costs attributable to diabetes. For cost categories analyzed, care for people diagnosed with diabetes accounts for 1 in 4 health care dollars in the U.S., 61% of which are attributable to diabetes. On average people with diabetes incur annual medical expenditures of $19,736, of which approximately $12,022 is attributable to diabetes. People diagnosed with diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures 2.6 times higher than what would be expected without diabetes."

Check out So Expensive Series - Insulin to learn more about the cost of insulin.

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.