Approximately 19 million U.S. adults reported receiving treatment for diabetes in 2007, more than double the 9 million who said they received care in 1996, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
AHRQ also found that between 1996 and 2007:
- The number of people age 65 years and older treated for diabetes increased from 4.3 million to 8 million; for people age 45 years to 64 years, 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; and
- Total prescription drug costs nearly increased fourfold from $4 billion to $19 billion throughout the 11-year period. Per patient, the cost of prescription medicines more than doubled, rising from $495 in 1996 to $1,048 a year in 2007.
