One Way to Fix the Healthcare System

A man takes a blood sample to check blood sugar.

This article in the LA Times is all about diabetes.  Did you know that about half of Americans have diabetes or prediabetes?  HALF!  You can read the piece for more of the specifics but I pulled out the ones I felt important:

  • The number of newly diagnosed cases of diabetes among children and teens under the age of 18 each year is 132,000 with only 17,900 being type 1. 
  • 61% of U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes are obese.
  • 41% of U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes got less than 10 minutes of “moderate or vigorous” exercise at work, during their leisure time and as a means of transportation.
  • 16% of U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes are smokers; 35% used to smoke but quit.
  • The total cost of caring for Americans with diabetes in 2012 is $254 billion. It averages out to $13,700 per diabetes patient, which is 2.3 times higher than for people who don’t have diabetes.

For one second let’s be realistic.  Forget being political correctness.  Let’s not throw around the “shaming” word.  I am not trying to mock anyone.  A very small part of being a type 2 diabetic comes from genetic predisposition.  It is mostly a disease of lifestyle.  What we eat is killing us.  These numbers above are astronomical.  We cannot fix the healthcare system until some responsibility is placed back on the patient.  End of story. I am not saying this will be easy.  I am just being honest.