Diabetes costs highest in US

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Lilly's Humalog

Diabetes Seen as Biggest Driver in Increased Spending on Drugs

Diabetes Health Staff

Jun 15, 2011

Statistics from the 2011 Medco Drug Report show that diabetes

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/> drugs accounted for 16.1 percent of the

overall increase in U.S. spending on therapeutic drugs in 2010. The report

states that the increase is due to the growing number of Americans who have

diabetes.

The federal government

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/legal/government-and-policy/>

estimates that almost 26 million U.S. residents had diabetes in 2010, and

another 79 million had prediabetes-about 35 percent of all U.S. adults. It

expects the number of people with diabetes and prediabetes to reach 52

percent of the adult population by 2020.

Within the category of diabetes drugs, insulin

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/medications/insulin/> accounted for

36 percent of overall costs and 63 percent of total growth. The category

generating the second largest percentage of spending growth was respiratory

drugs, which grew at 15.1 percent. That category includes drugs for asthma

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/complications-and-care/asthma/> ,

chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.

New Jersey-based Medco Health Solutions, Inc., is a healthcare company that

provides pharmacy

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/medications/pharmacy/> services for

private and public employers, health plans, labor unions, government

agencies, and individuals served by Medicare Part D prescription drug

plans-in all, an estimated 65 million people. Its 2009 revenues were

reported to be just under $60 billion.

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Categories: <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/community/diabetes/>