Economic Cost of Chronic Diseases

The Milken Institute in October 2007 also performed a study on the cost of chronic disease to the U.S. economy. The report covered seven common chronic diseases: cancers, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, mental disorders, and pulmonary conditions. Their major findings included:

• The economic impact in the U.S. in 2003 (in billions of dollars) for Treatment Expenditures: $277
• The economic impact in the U.S. in 2003 (in billions of dollars) for Lost Productivity: $1,047
• Therefore, the total annual economic loss: $1,324
• “Reasonable improvements in preventing and managing chronic disease could reduce future economic costs of disease in the United States sharply, by 27% ($1.1 trillion) in 2023. $905 billion of this would come from gains in productivity, and $218 billion would come from reduced treatment spending.”

To read the entire report, click on An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease.