Key points
- Millions of Americans are living with diabetes and prediabetes.
- This affects the health, quality of life, and productivity of America's workforce.
- Find out how employers and insurers can help prevent type 2 diabetes through the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program.
US workforce and prediabetes
Diabetes and prediabetes affect the health and quality of life of America's workforce. These diseases also cost employers and insurers billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and medical expenses.
The lifestyle change program is a key element of the National DPP. It can cut a person's risk of getting type 2 diabetes in half. Find information on preventing type 2 diabetes and saving money on your health and productivity costs at the same time.
How type 2 diabetes affects your workforce
1 in 3 US adults has prediabetes. Without intervention, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes puts your employees at risk of serious health problems, including:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Blindness
- Kidney failure
- Loss of toes, feet, or legs
Diabetes is costly
In 2022, the total cost of care for people with diagnosed diabetes was $413 billion. About 1 in 4 health care dollars is spent on people with diagnosed diabetes. The majority of expenses are from hospitalizations and medications used to treat diabetes complications.
People diagnosed with diabetes incur on average about $19,700 annually in medical expenses. That's about 2.6 times the medical expenses of a person without diabetes.
Diabetes is a serious workforce issue. But you can help prevent type 2 diabetes, the most common type. It's typically much cheaper to prevent diabetes than to treat the consequences of the disease. Learn how the National DPP lifestyle change program can help your employees and your bottom line.
Join the movement
You can help your employees or insured members prevent type 2 diabetes by covering the lifestyle change program as a benefit. You can add value to your health plans with these strategies:
- Include prediabetes screening and testing in your preventive care offerings.
- Promote awareness of prediabetes through communication to members.
- Contact a local organization offering the lifestyle change program to learn how it fits within value-based plans.
- Expand coverage of the lifestyle change program to additional states and plans within your network.
- Offer the lifestyle change program to your members.