Intensively Managed Diabetes Costs $28,661 More Then Conventional Treatment

Even at $28,000 more, the health care system says it represents a good value.

Improved Glycemic Control: Intensive insulin therapy, as practiced in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, was more costly by $28,661 per year of life saved than was conventional management, but it represents a good value from a health care system perspective.1,2 In a managed care setting, with higher charges associated with increasing HbA1c and cardiac morbidities, health care costs for diabetes could be trimmed by $400 to $4,000 per person over a three-year period for each 1% reduction in HbA1c.3 Shetty et al. reported that patients achieving HbA1c 7% or lower incurred 32% lower health care costs in the follow-up year than when this target was not met.3 In another example, achieving glycemic control improved symptoms, general perceived health, and cognitive functioning, translating to average savings of $91 per worker per month attributable to less absenteeism, $304 per 1,000 person-days attributable to fewer hospital-bed-days, and $1,615 per 1,000 person-days attributable to reduced restricted-activity-days.4 Improving HbA1c by 1% or more for sustained periods eventually saved one health maintenance organization between $685 and $950 per patient per year, despite higher costs for primary care visits in the first year.5

Source: Diabetes In Control