'Urgent priority': Dire diabetes price tag expected to blow out to $3.5 billion a year by 2040
12 Mar, 2021 05:00 AM
5 minutes to read
Emma Russell is a health reporter for the New Zealand Heraldemma.russell@nzherald.co.nz
A damning report reveals the skyrocketing number of New Zealanders with type 2 diabetes is expected to cost our health system $3.5 billion a year by 2040.
That's up from the $2.1 billion our health system currently spends annually on treating the chronic condition that can lead to blindness, amputation and a life hooked up to a dialysis machine.
Researchers of The Economic and Social Cost of Type 2 Diabetes report - launched in Parliament today - are warning urgent Government action is needed to halt or even reverse that steep curve.