Diabetes Takes Largest Share Of The United States Health Care Spending [STUDY]

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A new comprehensive financial analysis finds that diabetes tops a list of 20 diseases and medical conditions that account for more than half of all spending on healthcare in the United States.

The total of United States spending on diabetes diagnosis and treatment in 2013 was $101 billion, which has grown 36 times faster than the spending on heart disease - the country's number one cause of death, according to researchers.

"After adjusting for inflation, we see that every year the U.S. is spending 6 percent more than we spent the year before on diabetes," Joseph Dieleman, lead researcher and assistant professor at the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation says.

He added that it is really a remarkable growth rate, notably faster than the economy is growing or health care spending as a whole. The annual growth rate in healthcare spending between 1996 and 2013 has been 3.5 percent on average, but spending on diabetes grew two times faster than all other conditions combined during that 18-year period, according to Health news.

The researchers concluded from their analysis of federal data that the United States spent $2.1 trillion in 2013 on diagnosis and treatment of health conditions, which amounts to more than 17 percent of the total U.S. economy.

The researchers broke down the $2.1 trillion spent in 2013 across 155 different health conditions, to see which disease was getting more of the allocation. The top 10 most costly health expenses in 2013, according to the analysis, were Diabetes ($101.4 billion) at the top, then Ischemic heart disease ($88.1 billion), Low back and neck pain ($87.6 billion), High blood pressure ($83.9 billion), Injuries from falls ($76.3 billion), Depression ($71.1 billion), Dental care ($66.4 billion), Vision and hearing problems ($59 billion), Skin-related problems ($55.7 billion), and Pregnancy and postpartum care ($55.6 billion).

The first five conditions alone comprised 18 percent of all personal health care spending in 2013 which amount to $437 billion. However, the researchers did not add cancer to the list as they split the category into the different types of cancers. The study found that all combined cancer care cost amount to $115 billion, according to MedicineNet.

Although, the study only considered the amount of money spent on healthcare, and not whether it was spent wisely. A follow-up report coming out in a few months will connect the money to risk factors that cause illness. Dieleman added

The researchers noted that more than 57 percent of the money spent on diabetes care in 2013 went to medications and 23.5 percent was spent on outpatient care. Billions are spent on low back and neck pain, and 70 percent of it goes to working-age people younger than 65.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel from the University of Pennsylvania agreed in his editorial that the rates of pain-associated health issues are actually increasing, instead of decreasing, and just few people would rate the United States performance on these conditions as exemplary. He said patients who want pain relief often prefer to undergo surgery, even when rest, physical therapy and nonsurgical interventions would be effective.

 The researchers published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association on December 27 2016.