The Cost of Chronic Disease in the USA

Health care costs in the USA are spiraling out of control, and in an attempt to rein them in, Congress recently passed legislation to reform health care provision in the country. However, there is growing concern that the new legislation will not save money but instead place an even greater financial burden upon the nation.

So how much does chronic disease cost in the USA?

It is difficult to obtain an accurate figure because we are dealing with an upwardly moving target. The data for 2003 which were reported in 2007 by the Milken Institute (1) revealed that more than 109 million Americans, over one third of the population, had at least one of the following seven chronic diseases; cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, lung disease, mental disorders, or stroke (1). Some individuals suffered from more than one of these conditions, and the total number of cases reported was 162.2 million. This is a staggering figure and so also is the cost; $277 billion for treatment and $1,046.7 billion estimated for lost productivity adding up to $1,323.7 billion, nearly 10% of the annual gross domestic product (GDP) and a severe recurrent drain upon the nation. These figures are certain to be higher now because healthcare costs have continued to rise. And this is just for chronic diseases. Treatment of other ailments would be in addition and the total expense is now estimated to be over $2,000 billion ($2 trillion) annually.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 133 million Americans had a least one chronic condition in 2005 and the medical costs for treating all chronic diseases at that time were over 75% of the nation’s annual $2 trillion healthcare costs (2).

Here are some examples from the CDC report.

1) Treating heart disease and stroke: Projected to be $448 billion for 2008.

2) Direct and indirect costs of diabetes: $174 billion a year.

3) Direct medical costs of treating cancer: Estimated to be $89 billion per year.

4) Cost of treating arthritis: Estimated at nearly $81 billion per year and the total cost, including lost productivity, $128 billion. (Note: The Milken Institute allowed a much higher percentage for lost productivity for the diseases they reported.)

5) Total cost of treating obesity in 2000: Estimated at $117 billion. Some of this cost involved treating the conditions above. If obesity rates and treatment expenses continue to rise, they are projected to cost $344 billion by 2018 (3).

These figures give some idea of the burgeoning costs of healthcare in the USA, and are partly explained by increases in the prevalence of certain conditions and partly by the increasing costs of healthcare provision. The best way to bring these costs under control is by improving the nation’s overall health through the adoption of a better diet and regular exercise habits. As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

References

1) DeVol, R., Bedroussian, A. et al. (2007) An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease. The Milken Institute, Santa Monica, pp 238. http://www.chronicdiseaseimpact.com/

2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008) Chronic Disease Overview. http://www.cdc.gov/NCCdphp/overview.htm

3) America’s Health Rankings (2009) Obesity in America http://www.americashealthrankings.org/Obesity.aspx
The full report, based on research by Kenneth E. Thorpe, is at http://www.americashealthrankings.org/2009/report/Cost%20Obesity%20Report-final.pdf