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Share Your Journey
of Living with Diabetes

Make Your Voice Heard

No one knows your story better than you. Every person living with diabetes has a unique point of view and each opinion sheds new light on a universal problem. Share your journey of living with diabetes – the struggles, the challenges, the issues – not just for your own care, but for the future care of others.

Tips for Finding Your Voice:

It’s time to take action

For People Living with Diabetes

Stories matter. Share yours today. Use your voice to tell insurance providers that affordable access to diabetes treatment isn’t a matter of choice, but a medical necessity to your health. 

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Empower Yourself

For Caregivers

Diabetes can be a complex and challenging disease, for both the person that is diagnosed and caregivers. Empower yourself. Take action on behalf of your loved one and advocate to insurance providers to grant affordable access to the latest medical advances and cutting-edge technology. 

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Sharing their story

Leigh Fickling, Caregiver and Mom

Leigh works in disability management for a health system. She is also the parent of a diabetic. Under the American’s with Disabilities Act, people with diabetes have special rights. Leigh and her family have been advocating for their daughter and her “diabetes brothers and sisters” from the beginning. Standing up and asking for what her daughter needs is important to her and she understands that not all families are in a position to advocate, so her family is pressing forward to help pave the way for any family who comes after them.

The Facts

The Risk of Diabetes

Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer.

Health care costs for Americans living with diabetes are 2.3 times higher than those without. 

People with diabetes are at increased risk of serious health complications including premature death, vision loss, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and amputation. 

Today, 4,110 Americans will be diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes will cause 295 Americans to have an amputation and 137 will enter end-stage kidney disease treatment.

Nearly one in four adults living with diabetes didn’t know they had the condition.

The estimated total economic cost of diagnosed diabetes is $327 billion, a 26% increase from the 2012 estimate of $245 billion.

People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of $16,752 per year.

The largest components of medical expenditures are hospital inpatient care (30% of the total medical cost) and prescription medications to treat complications of diabetes (30%).

Indirect costs include increased absenteeism ($3.3 billion), reduced productivity while at work ($26.9 billion) for the employed population, reduced productivity for those not in the labor force ($2.3 billion), inability to work as a result of disease-related disability ($37.5 billion), and lost productive capacity due to early mortality ($19.9 billion).

Sources: 
CDC. National diabetes statistics report, 2017
 Economic costs of diabetes in the US in 2017. Diabetes care. 2018 May 1;41(5):917-28.
Stokes A, Preston SH. Deaths attributable to diabetes in the United States: comparison of data sources and estimation approaches. PLoS One. 2017 Jan 25;12(1):e0170219.

Take Action

Advocate for the change you want to see, for yourself and for future individuals living with diabetes. A few simple steps can create positive change for affordable access. 

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