Chronic disease is on the rise in the United States and it currently accounts for 75% of health care expenses each year. The United States compares poorly with other industrialized nations in chronic disease management, especially when it comes to asthma and diabetes. In 2000, the United States had the 3rd highest diabetes death rate among OECD countries. Among developed nations, the United States has the second-highest hospital admission rates due to asthma, which is a marker of poor asthma management. In addition, 11% of diabetes patients in the United States were uninsured in 2000, and as a result received fewer preventative services.

People with chronic disease have more health care needs than the average patient and therefore are financially punished for their illnesses in private employer-based health insurance plans. Over 90% of insured diabetics spend more than $1,050 annually on their care, and more than 50% spend at least $5,000. Single-payer health insurance systems remove extra financial burden from chronically ill patients by eliminating co-pays and deductibles. This system will help encourage preventative care, which is crucial in managing chronic disease and saves money for everyone in the long run. See below for more information about chronic disease in the United States.

Further Resources:

• “Chronic Disease Overview,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 20, 2008.
• Financial Burden of Diabetes, “Consumer-Directed Healthcare: Except for the Healthy and Wealthy It’s Unwise,” Steffie Woolhandler and David U. Himmelstein, Journal of General Internal Medicine, June 2007.
• International Comparison of Death Rates Due to Diabetes, OECD Health Data, 2006.
• “The Association between Health Insurance Coverage and Diabetes Care,” Karin M. Nelson et al, Health Services Research, April 2005.
• International Comparison of Asthma Admission Rates, “Health at a Glance 2007,” OECD Health Data.