Thanks for your response. I think I see the misunderstanding. I don’t think saying, “that 25% of Medicare dollars currently go to cover treatment of diabetes complications” is the same as saying, “Nearly 1/3 of every Medicare dollar is spent on people with diabetes.”

Let me give you an unfortunate example to illustrate. A diabetic co-worker in my sister-in-law’s office developed some troubling symptoms, which were initially diagnosed as a “complication of diabetes.” (He had good control of his sugars).

When the symptoms persisted and, in fact, worsened, more tests were done and this diabetic patient was discovered to have advanced stage cancer, unrelated to his diabetes.

So this illustrates the difference between spending health care dollars on complications of diabetes versus treatment of a (unrelated) condition suffered by a PWD. It also shows one more issue diabetics face when seeking medical treatment. Often EVERY medical malady they complain of is sloughed off as a “symptom of your diabetes.”

Hope that explains why I complained.

‘In your case you do derive some real benefit from having a disease that’s widespread – there’s a large market for it. Given the health insurance industry’s fixation on ever increasing profits margins, that makes you relatively “lucky”.’

Paul, I am truly sympathetic to you. I am sympathetic to anyone with a chronic illness as we are consistently misunderstood and “swept” under the rug.

As a Type 1 Diabetic for 22 years, we are not lucky. Believe me. As a general overview of this lovely America we live in, Type 2 is the focus and that is what is being pushed, that is what is widespread. It is an epidemic, the stats are many. Therefore the revenue is large.
Then you get into State and County. Where I live I have been denied left and right the supplies I need to sustain my life. All because I have a job. The provisions of gross income are unfortunate for those with a disease that is costly in which we did not ask for.

Paul I am sure you have been through a lot. I understand where you are coming from. I have my own opinions about a lot of things because of the obstacles I constantly face.

What is important here is: this is Amy’s site. She does a damn good job bringing forth the current issues related to Diabetes. Yet she reaches out and tries to cover the health care issues of today.

Keep in mind, we all have our issues, they are very important to us and no one can ever take that away. We just need to keep making sure we are heard!!!

See this JDRF report, which states that “Nearly 1/3 of every Medicare dollar is spent on people with diabetes”:
http://www.jdrf.org/files/General_Files/chapters_and_affiliates/greater_bay_area_chapter/JDRF%20Research%20Advocacy.pdf

The original 25% quote actually came from a prominent CDE by the name of Beverly Thomaissan, who was quoting the CDC.

“Did you know, for example, that 25% of Medicare dollars currently go to cover treatment of diabetes complications?”

That’s patently absurd. I work with billing in a comprehensive medical center and I can tell you that nowhere near 25 percent of our medical dollars goes to cover treatment of diabetes complications. I’ve never heard such a ridiculous figure quoted.

Now I see why they say there’s liars, damn liars and statistics. In this case, somebody appears to be trying to justify pushing more drugs onto an otherwise healthy diabetic or “pre-diabetic” population.

That’s just cynical me talking.

To Jules:
Sorry to hear that. I wasn’t quoting the NY Times in order to be “leftish.” I just thought the story brought up an interesting point — that health care reform is REALLY important, no matter who ends up in political office.

It should be but it sure isn’t.

In your case you do derive some real benefit from having a disease that’s widespread – there’s a large market for it. Given the health insurance industry’s fixation on ever increasing profits margins, that makes you relatively “lucky”.

For other groups, for example people like me, with rare diseases, or, in my particular case, undiagosable after over thirteen years – with, let’s just say, far less than heroic efforts made by the insurance/medical industry to arrive at one – things are worse.

I’ve just begun a series of posts on health care reform.

I would just like to point out that the New York Times is hardly the darling of the left wing. Consider James Risen, who sat on his story entitled “Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts” for a full two years, until after the 2004 elections. Consider the Judith Miller case; consider the Times’s abysmal coverage of the lead-up to the Iraq war.

I’m a little bit miffed as to what exactly your criticism is – Krugman is hardly a radical, and Diabetes Mine can hardly be criticized for echoing what many, many objective observers see as a broken health care system in America.

You cannot let yourself be so easily offended by political discourse. There’s no such thing as “a break from politics,” especially for those of us living with chronic health conditions, whose quality of life is directly influenced by the politics that dictate the efficacy of our health care system.