CLEVELAND, Ohio — Chronic disease could cost the United States as much as $47 trillion between 2024 and 2039, including $2.2 trillion annually in medical costs and nearly $900 billion each year in lost productivity by 2039, according to new data from the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.
The estimated burden of chronic disease includes $2.2 trillion annually in medical costs and nearly $900 billion each year in lost productivity by 2039, the report states.
“These findings make clear that chronic disease, and especially the accumulation of multiple chronic conditions, is the main driver of rising health care spending in the United States,” said Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease Chairman Ken Thorpe.
“The path to better overall health outcomes, sustainability and productivity runs through prevention, innovation and better coordination of care, not access restrictions that leave patients sicker and costs higher,” Thorpe said.
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease is a nonprofit organization of patients, providers, labor groups, and health policy experts committed to raising awareness of chronic disease.
The recently released analysis, conducted by GlobalData, found that 5% of people account for nearly 50% of total health care spending, driven largely by an increase in patients living with three or more chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma.
Behavioral changes, such as improved diet or losing weight, can help people avoid or mitigate chronic disease.
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease report also evaluated states on how well residents manage their weight and diets. The analysis showed that 65% of Ohioans are overweight or obese and 42% eat less than 1 fruit a day.
Better prevention, earlier intervention, and improved management of chronic disease, especially obesity, could prevent 150 million new chronic disease cases, and save an estimated 13.5 million lives, the analysis said.
The report’s methodology can be found here.
Midwesterners not eating their veggies
Here is the report’s findings about health and wellness metrics in Ohio and surrounding states, listed alphabetically.
Indiana:
67% are overweight or obese
44% eat less than 1 fruit a day
27% eat less than 1 vegetable per day
23% smoke cigarettes
Kentucky
67% are overweight or obese
46% eat less than 1 fruit a day
25% eat less than 1 vegetable per day
27% smoke cigarettes
Michigan
66% are overweight or obese
38% eat less than 1 fruit a day
25% eat less than 1 vegetable per day
22% smoke cigarettes
Ohio
65% are overweight or obese
42% eat less than 1 fruit a day
26% at less than 1 vegetable per day
24% smoke cigarettes
West Virginia
Chronic disease could cost US $47 trillion by 2039, new report finds
