Reed pushes for federal funds for two government diabetes programs

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), co-chair of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, spearheaded a bipartisan group of 378 lawmakers in urging U.S. House leadership to maintain federal funding for two diabetes research programs.

The Special Diabetes Program for Type 1 Diabetes and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians are set to expire at the end of September without congressional action. Collectively, the programs receive $150 million a year in federal monies to research diabetes treatments and disease prevention.

“Further investment in these vital programs is essential to continue outreach and education, plan next steps for research programs, and effectively allocate resources — all of which play an important role in helping to better treat, prevent and ultimately cure diabetes,” wrote Rep. Reed and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), caucus co-chair, and their colleagues in a May 9 letter sent to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Congress created both programs in 1997 following release of a report from the bipartisan Congressional Diabetes Research Working Group that found limitations in the nation’s ability to research and treat diabetes largely due to a lack of government funding.

Rep. Reed and the lawmakers pointed out that continuing to fund the two programs is important for both the 114 million Americans living with or at risk of developing diabetes and the nation’s overall economy.

“Diabetes is our country’s most costly disease in both human and economic terms,” they wrote. “Without question, the lives of roughly 30.3 million individuals with diabetes, 84.1 million with prediabetes, and countless families impacted by the disease have benefited from these critical programs.”

The lawmakers also said that the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2017 was $327 billion, with $237 billion spent on direct medical costs and $90 billion lost on reduced productivity.

“Medical expenditures for individuals diagnosed with diabetes are roughly 2.3 times higher than expenditures for those without the disease,” they wrote, adding that the overall economic costs of diabetes, adjusted for inflation, increased by 26 percent from 2012 to 2017, with costs expected to increase along with the rising number of people with diabetes.

The lawmakers’ letter already has garnered support from numerous organizations, including the American Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.