[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2623-E2624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE NATIONAL DIABETES COORDINATOR ACT

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                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2007

  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, yesterday I introduced The National 
Diabetes Coordinator

[[Page E2624]]

Act, H.R. 4836. As some of my colleagues who have worked on issues 
relating to diabetes may be aware, the Federal Government spends over 
$80 billion per year treating diabetes and its complications.
  Since 1980, the number of Americans suffering from diabetes has 
doubled to more than 20 million, and that number is projected to double 
again by 2025.
  The serious complications stemming from diabetes--including heart 
disease, high blood pressure, stroke, blindness, amputation and renal 
disease--are well documented and even more importantly, they are 
largely preventable with proper management and treatment.
  To that end, H.R. 4836 would establish a National Diabetes 
Coordinator to coordinate research and prevention activities throughout 
the federal government, including agencies such as the Department of 
Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.
  We need this kind of comprehensive approach to get our hands around 
what is rapidly becoming an all-encompassing epidemic. A recent study 
found that one out of every eight Federal health care dollars is spent 
treating people with diabetes. The total amount of money spent on 
diabetes is nearly equal to the entire budget for the U.S. Department 
of Education, roughly $80 billion.
  While we expend vast resources on this effort, of that $80 billion, 
less than 1 percent is spent on direct diabetes prevention. When you 
also consider that 18 of 21 Federal agencies spend money on diabetes, 
there is a clear need for a National Coordinator to establish a 
strategy to prevent and reduce diabetes and its complications.
  We have seen evidence that this approach can work. A recent Agency 
for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, study demonstrated that 
Medicare and Medicaid could save $2.5 billion a year by presenting 
diabetes and its complications with appropriate primary care. The city 
of Asheville, North Carolina saved $2.000 per employee with an 
innovative diabetes management program. The NIH-sponsored Diabetes 
Prevention Project proved that we can prevent and delay diabetes and 
its complications by 58 percent.
  A National Diabetes Coordinator will provide the Federal leadership 
necessary to maximize the funds the Federal Government is currently 
spending to save money and lives. Further, a National Diabetes 
Coordinator with specific responsibilities to work across agencies to 
prevent and reduce diabetes and its complications will be a model for 
how the U.S. can deal with other chronic diseases such as heart 
disease.
  As we consider how to move forward in the fight against diabetes, I 
encourage my colleagues to think of these statistics: one in three kids 
born today will get diabetes, and that figure rises to one in two in 
minorities. Further, 32 percent of the Medicare program is spent on the 
18 percent of beneficiaries with diabetes. We need Federal leadership 
provided in H.R. 4836 to help reverse these trends and make a 
difference for future generations.

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