Appropriators on the National Diabetes Prevention Program
Representatives Reid Ribble and Susan Davis Lead Bipartisan Letter to Appropriators on the National Diabetes Prevention Program
Dear Chairman Rehberg and Ranking Member DeLauro:
As you complete the appropriations process for Fiscal year 2013, the undersigned Members of Congress ask that you give strong consideration to the burden of diabetes in the United States and provide a minimum of $10 million for the National diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the prevalence of diabetes is growing, we have the potential to prevent many new cases of the disease. In preventing diabetes we can also avert the rising health care costs that stem from diabetes and its complications.
As you know, nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes. Another 79 million have prediabetes, putting them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes and its complications, along with prediabetes and gestational diabetes, cost our nation an estimated $218 billion annually. This growing epidemic is a serious threat to both the health and fiscal stability of our nation.