WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Healthcare spending generally goes up. For researchers, it's about locating the high-growth sectors. Not surprisingly, spending on diabetes has grown as more Americans are diagnosed with metabolic disease.
As a new study shows, health care spending on children with diabetes has been rising the most -- specifically those with private health insurance.
According to the study by the Health Care Cost Institute, spending for employer-insured children with diabetes rose 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, and 9.6 percent between 2012 and 2013.
The numbers are based on researchers' analysis of employer-provided insurance claims filed by or on behalf of some 40 million Americans below the age of 65. The study also found that among privately insured Americans, 5.3 percent were diagnosed with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes in 2013 -- up from 4.7 percent in 2009.
"The number of people with diabetes continues to grow, as does the health care spending for these individuals," David Newman, executive director of the Health Care Cost Institute, said in a press release. "We, and others, need to better understand the relationship between spending and actual health outcomes for people with diabetes, particularly children."
Researchers said one of the main reasons for the spending increase is that branded insulin is administered to children with diabetes more frequently than it is for older Americans with the disease.
"There has been extraordinary growth in health care spending for children with diabetes," explained researcher Amanda Frost. "It appears that higher spending on branded insulin is one factor influencing this trend. Moving forward, it will be important to continue to analyze these spending trends to see what else we can learn about how the way we manage diabetes contributes to its costs."
The study also found that healthcare spending is substantially higher for those with diabetes. Diabetes patients spent an average of about $10,000 more each year, or 70 percent more, than those without the disease.
