Academy Issue Brief Provides International Perspective on Efforts to Address Growing Cost of Diabetes

A new issue brief developed by the Academy’s Health Practice International Task Force, “Curbing the High Cost of Diabetes,” examines the current and projected future global prevalence and costs associated with diabetes. It also examines endeavors underway in seven different countries (Australia, Canada, Israel, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to develop better ways to measure, prevent, treat, and slow the cost of, the disease.

The results are cautionary yet hopeful.

The disease is expected to become more common globally, increasing from 8.3 percent prevalence in adults in 2011, to 9.9 percent in 2030, according to data from the International Diabetes Federation. At the same time, spending on diabetes varies widely — in 2010, the United States spent $197.8 billion, accounting for 53 percent of global spending on diabetes, whereas India, with the largest population of diabetics, spent $2.8 billion, less than 1 percent of the global total.

The issue brief, available at http://goo.gl/P9v5SC, also explores some of the national and clinical interventions that the seven countries examined are undertaking to combat the economic and personal toll of diabetes, including educational efforts to raise awareness of the disease and promote prevention, improvements in data collection, dissemination of best practices for providers when treating patients with diabetes, and treatment of the disease in more cost-effective and patient-centered settings.

The American Academy of Actuaries is an 18,000-member professional association whose mission is to serve the public and the U.S. actuarial profession. The Academy assists public policymakers on all levels by providing leadership, objective expertise, and actuarial advice on risk and financial security issues. The Academy also sets qualification, practice, and professionalism standards for actuaries in the United States.