AHRQ: Diabetes expenditures doubled between 1996 and 2007

Spending to treat diabetes increased from $18.5 billion in 1996 (in 2007 dollars) to $40.8 billion in 2007, according to findings from an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) survey published in December 2010.

Ambulatory expenditures for care and treatment of diabetes doubled from $4.9 billion in 1996 to $9.8 billion in 2007, according to the The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which was co-sponsored by AHRQ and the National Center for Health Statistics.

In 2007, approximately 19 million adults or 8.5 percent of the adult U.S. population reported receiving treatment for diabetes, according to the report. “This represented a doubling of the number of people receiving treatment compared with 1996, when 9.1 million adults reported receiving treatment for diabetes.”

In addition, the survey found that mean annual prescription drug expenditures for those with an expense related to diabetes more than doubled, from $495 per person in 1996 (in 2007 dollars) to $1,048 per person in 2007.

In 2007, 46.7 percent of the total diabetes expenditures were spent on prescription medicines compared to 23 percent in 1996. About 30 percent of total expenditures for the treatment of diabetes in 2007 were paid by private insurance as compared to 20.2 percent in 1996, the report noted.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is a longitudinal survey that collects information on healthcare utilization and expenditures, health insurance and health status, as well as social, demographic and economic characteristics for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population.

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