Pete Domenici: “on Friday, my colleague Mr. Schumer and I introduced the Diabetes Screening and Medicaid Savings Act of 2007. This bill…”

“on Friday, my colleague Mr. Schumer and I introduced the Diabetes Screening and Medicaid Savings Act of 2007. This bill will provide a diabetes screening benefit for adults within the Medicaid program. Only Medicaid eligible individuals who are enrolled in the program and who meet certain qualifications will be covered. If you test positive for diabetes, then there is mandated coverage of treatment, supplies, and education. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes affects nearly 21 million Americans, about 7 percent of the total population. The number of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes has increased by more than 60 percent since 1991 and is projected to more than double by 2050. It ranks as the sixth leading cause of death in America. People who have diabetes are much more likely to suffer from blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and nerve damage. These complications result in significant costs to the health care system as a whole as well as to the individual suffering from this disease. Diabetes health care specialists say that many patients who are diagnosed with diabetes initially visit their doctor not for symptoms related to the diabetes but because they are already suffering from the secondary complications. If diabetes complications are the first indication that you have diabetes, you are starting your fight at an incredible disadvantage.”