Improved management practices can reduce annual costs from diabetes-related complications

Milliman Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released an analysis detailing the economic burden of type 2 diabetes on major healthcare payers and quantifying the savings that could result from better patient management practices. This study, entitled "Improved Management Can Help Reduce the Burden of Type 2 Diabetes: A 20-Year Actuarial Projection," was unveiled at the National Conference on Diabetes today in Washington, D.C.

"The expected growth of type 2 diabetes in America and the resulting healthcare costs are alarming," said Kathryn Fitch, a co-author of the study and principal and healthcare management consultant at Milliman.  "We calculated that even modest improvements in diabetes control measures could reduce health complications, deaths and costs, particularly for the elderly."

Milliman's study estimated the impact of improving blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol control in type 2 diabetes patients. According to the report, fewer than two-thirds of patients meet the target ranges for any of these three measures (A1C <7%:49%; Systolic blood pressure <130:60%; LDL <100:39%)(1). The study found that reducing by half the number of people who are not meeting targets could, by 2031, reduce annual costs from diabetes-related complications by nearly $200 billion(2), reduce diabetes-related complications by 18 percent and reduce deaths from diabetes-related complications by 9 percent(3).

The study noted that the diabetes epidemic will continue to expand, and improving treatment and management practices are vital to reversing this trend. Over the next 20 years, type 2 diabetes cases outpace the growth of the U.S. population, to eventually affect 32 million patients (8.6 percent of the population)(4). With this jump in type 2 diabetes prevalence – and with people who have the disease expected to account for 15 percent of all national healthcare expenditures by 2031(5) – better patient management practices are urgently needed.

The study found that, with our aging society, the elderly will be particularly affected by this epidemic. The share of those covered by Medicare could climb by 7 percentage points to encompass 44 percent of all type 2 diabetes cases(6). However, if a 30 percent reduction in people not meeting targets for blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels is achieved by 2031, Medicare could save $47 billion annually(7).