Effective interventions for stemming the growing crisis of diabetes and prediabetes: a national payer's perspective

Abstract

Between a fifth and a third of US adults will have diabetes by midcentury, up from one in ten now, according to a government estimate. We project that over the next decade, around 40 million adults could have diabetes and 100 million could be diagnosed with its clinical precursor, prediabetes. Related health care spending could reach $512 billion annually in 2021. Evidence-based interventions can curb diabetes and its clinical complications, but little has been done to implement them on a wide scale. What's needed, among other measures, are new risk-assessment methods to identify subpopulations that will benefit most; the enrollment of consumers in new care models that support and encourage lifestyle change; partnerships with pharmacists, nurses, and health coaches; and new programs in Medicare and Medicaid that encourage patient engagement and lifestyle change.