Robin Respaut and Chad Terhune

(Reuters.) More than 100,000 Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 2021. It was the second consecutive year that this terrible milestone occurred. The news prompted a national mobilization to fight HIV/AIDS.

This new information comes as an expert panel calls on Congress to improve diabetes care and prevention. It also includes recommendations for moving beyond the reliance solely upon medical interventions. An earlier report called for much more comprehensive policy changes to stop the epidemic of diabetes. It included promoting healthier food choices, paid maternal leave, taxing sugary beverages, and increasing access to affordable housing.

2019 saw diabetes as the 7th leading cause of American death. It claimed 87,000 lives. This was due to an inability to properly treat it.

Since then, the nation’s toll from diabetes has increased sharply, surpassing 100,000 deaths in each of the last two years and representing a new record-high level, according to a Reuters analysis of provisional death data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The diabetes-related death rate increased by 17% in 2020, and 15% in 2021, when compared to 2019. This did not include deaths that could be directly linked to COVID-19. The CDC agreed to the Reuters analysis. They still plan on counting additional deaths starting in 2021.

Paul Hsu from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, said that “the large number of diabetic deaths in the second year is definitely alarming.” It’s difficult to prevent type 2 diabetes, making it even more shocking that there are so many deaths.

A new report by the National Clinical Care Commission was released by Congress. It stated that America must take a more holistic approach in order for more Americans to be protected from type 2 diabetes. According to the National Clinical Care Commission, approximately 37 million Americans have diabetes. If current trends continue, one third of Americans will get the chronic condition in their lifetime.

The Jan. 5, report of the U.S. Commission on Diabetes to Congress and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated, “Diabetes in U.S. can’t be just viewed as an medical or health-care problem. But, it also has to be addressed as part of a larger societal problem that affects many sectors including food, transport, and the environment.”

Federal panel members recommended that Congress establish an Office of National Diabetes Policy, which would oversee and coordinate all government initiatives. The Office of National Diabetes Policy would not be part of HHS. It could look similar to the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. Dr. William Herman is the chairman of the commission and a Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Michigan.

“We aren’t going to cure the problem of diabetes in the United States with medical interventions,” Herman told Reuters. “The goal is to get something across federal agencies and have them systematically communicating with one another.”

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Murray stated that people with diabetes and chronic diseases were facing problems long before the pandemic. COVID only makes these issues worse. Research is essential to find ways that diabetes sufferers can be better supported and receive the proper care.

WORSE PROGNOSIS, MORE CAUSES

Reuters published a series of reports last year that showed diabetes was a significant public health issue in the United States. In the last decade, diabetes has seen an explosion in Americans. Their prognosis is worse and spending has increased on new treatments.

Diabetes sufferers are particularly at risk from the pandemic. The report found that people suffering from poorly managed diabetes are at least two times more likely to die of COVID-19. The report also found that diabetes and its complications were more prevalent among low-income Americans, as well as people of color. This is due to longstanding inequalities which were made worse by the pandemic.

Shari Bolen was a member on the Commission and is an associate professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Dr. Bolen said the alarming number of deaths from diabetes is both disheartening and a call for action.

It was the first review of diabetes by a federal panel since 1975. It stated that the incidence of diabetes in American adults increased from 5.3% in late 1970s, to 14.3% by 2018. In 2017, diabetes directly cost $237Billion, and productivity losses in America were estimated at $90B.

Patients with diabetes are often forced to stop or defer routine care because of high prices for medications, supplies and doctor’s appointments. Many patients and U.S. lawmakers have expressed outrage at the rising price of insulin, which type 1 diabetes patients must take their entire lives and which is sometimes required to keep type 2 patients’ disease under control. It supported measures such as a cap on insulin price increases at the inflation rate and government negotiations of drug prices.

Murray, along with other legislators, have advocated for an inclusion in Biden’s Build Back Better legislation which would limit insulin costs at $35 per patient.

To further ease financial barriers, the panel recommended that patients’ out-of-pocket costs be waived for other “high-value” treatments, including certain diabetes drugs, continuous glucose monitors, basic supplies and diabetes education.

Overtreatment of older people with type 2 diabetes is a serious risk. Reuters published a November report on that danger and the way in which a campaign led by drug companies for a more aggressive treatment goal resulted in an epidemic of potentially fatal hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Panel members asked federal officials to keep track of Medicare patients being overtreated to “reduce severe hypoglycemia” and increase patient safety.

According to the commission, the United States should encourage the purchasing of fruit and vegetables through food assistance programs. It also needs to ensure that mothers receive paid family leave in order for breastfeeding to be successful. This can reduce diabetes risk in moms and help children avoid obesity. Additionally, the panel suggested that taxes be imposed on sugary drinks to raise their prices by between 10% and 20%. This revenue would then be used for funding programs such as expanding access to clean water and other similar initiatives.

HHS withheld comment from Herman. The CDC stated that its recommendations provide a comprehensive roadmap to address rising healthcare costs attributed diabetes and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes outcomes.