ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Diabetes Association (ADA) today announced its 2006 public policy priorities, which -- if Congress adopts -- would help reverse a dramatic increase in diabetes prevalence and reduce the nationwide burden of diabetes and its complications on the healthcare system. Nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes, up from 18.2 million in 2003. One in three Americans, and one in two minorities, born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. The cost of diabetes in the United States in 2002 was at least $132 billion. Despite the growing diabetes epidemic, Congress last year passed a budget which, for the first time, cut federal funding for diabetes research and prevention. The Bush Administration’s proposed budget, announced last week, would further cut funding for diabetes research and prevention at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Throughout the year, policymakers will hear from our army of volunteers and grassroots advocates about the urgent need for Congress and the Administration to set a new course for diabetes policy,” said Robert A. Rizza, MD, President, Medicine & Science, American Diabetes Association. “All of us want to look back a year from now and see that 2006 was the year that the Administration and Congress recognized there is a nationwide diabetes epidemic and they took meaningful steps to fight the epidemic.”
Specifically, the ADA is urging Congress to: * Increase the budget at the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation by $20.8 million (a 33 percent increase) or one dollar for every American with diabetes and increase the budget for research at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, an NIH division, by $92 million (a 5 percent increase). * Pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.471/H.R. 810), which last year passed the U.S. House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support and currently awaits a vote in the U.S. Senate. The expansion of embryonic stem cell research holds much scientific promise for a cure for type 1 diabetes and better treatments for type 2 diabetes. * Protect health coverage -- supplies, medication, training -- that individuals with diabetes need to manage the disease. In recent years, the U.S. House of Representatives has repeatedly passed Association Health plan legislation, which would jeopardize health insurance coverage for people with diabetes. The ADA urges the Senate to pass legislation to expand health insurance options for small businesses, which would protect diabetes health coverage protections in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, the ADA urges Congress to oppose any changes to Medicaid, which would reduce eligibility, cut benefits, reduce the scope of existing services, or otherwise impose limits on the current structure of the program. Millions of people with diabetes rely on Medicaid coverage to properly manage the disease.
“There are now 47,816 individuals in each Congressional District and 416,000 in each state who have diabetes. For any policy maker who is committed to fighting the scourge of diabetes in their district or state but doesn’t know what they can do, these policy proposals are a great place to start. We have an ambitious agenda, but the 20.8 million Americans with diabetes -- and those who care for them -- deserve nothing less,” Rizza said.
Throughout the year, policy makers will hear from diabetes advocates, most notably at the ADA’s “Call to Congress,” June 7-9, when hundreds of diabetes advocates from across the country will meet with members of Congress to urge them to pass this agenda.
The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy. The Association’s advocacy efforts include helping to combat discrimination against people with diabetes; advocating for the increase of federal diabetes research and programs; and improved access to, and quality of, healthcare for people with diabetes. The Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Founded in 1940, the Association provides service to hundreds of communities across the country. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit http://www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.
American Diabetes Association
CONTACT: Zach Goldberg of American Diabetes Association, +1-703-549-1500,ext. 2622, or zgoldberg@diabetes.org
Web site: http://www.diabetes.org/
