Between 1996 and 2007, the number of U.S. adults who reported receiving diabetes-related care almost doubled, increasing from 9.1 million U.S. adults to 19 million, according to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Statistical Brief #304, Trends in Use and Expenditures for Diabetes among Adults 18 and Older, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 1996 and 2007, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a division of the U.S. Department for Health & Human Services (HHS). The study results were released online January 5.
AHRQ also reports that between 1996 and 2007:
- The number of people age 65 and older treated for diabetes increased from 4.6 million to 8 million; for people age 45 to 64, the increase was 3.6 million to 8.9 million; and for 18 to 44 year olds, the increase went from 1.2 million to 2.4 million.
- Treatment costs for diabetes, paid by all sources, more than doubled, rising from $18.5 billion in 1996 (in 2007 dollars) to $41 billion in 2007.
- Outpatient care costs also doubled from about $5 billion to roughly $10 billion.
- Total prescription drug costs nearly increased fourfold from $4.2 billion to $19.1 billion. Per patient, the cost of prescription medicines more than doubled, rising from $495 in 1996 to $1,048 per year in 2007.
