A new study says those diabetes cases are contributing to skyrocketing healthcare costs.
The study says it costs on average about $2,200 more to treat a patient with diabetes than to treat a patient without the disease. That adds up to more than $1.6 billion per year in extra medical costs. Doctor Susan Babey with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research says the toll on human health can also devastating.
“Blindness, cardio-vascular disease, it can lead to limb amputations, kidney failure and, if it’s very poorly managed, pre-mature death,” says Babey.
Medicare and Medi-Cal pay about three quarters of those costs. Medi-Cal covers about $254 million.
The study says unhealthy diet and lack of exercise have contributed to a three-fold increase in diabetes cases in the U.S. in the past 30 years.