The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) wishes to be recorded
in support of H.1128, legislation that would establish the Massachusetts
Diabetes State Action Plan within the Executive Office of Health and Human
Services. The bill also encourages
coordination by state agencies including EOHHS, the Department of Public Health
(DPH), the Health Policy Commission (HPC), the Center for Health Information
and Analysis (CHIA), the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) and MassHealth to
reduce the incidence of diabetes in the Commonwealth and improve diabetes care.
Diabetes is growing at an epidemic rate in the United States
and in Massachusetts. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the America Diabetes
Association, nearly 30 million Americans have diabetes, making it one of the
nation’s leading killers. Approximately
680,771 people in Massachusetts, or 11.9% of the population have diabetes. Diabetes and complications thereof, including
heart disease, stroke, amputation, end-stage kidney disease, blindness and
death, costs a staggering $8.1 billion in Massachusetts each year. And these figures don’t include those who
have prediabetes who are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
The Diabetes Action Plan envisioned by H.1128 would improve
coordination of care by all relevant state agencies in the Commonwealth and would
provide a range of actionable items for consideration by the Legislature to
better address the diabetes epidemic in our state. This plan would be provided to the
Legislature biennially, providing a foundation as to what the state is
currently doing to address diabetes, and a proposal for how those efforts could
be improved or expanded.
The concept of a state Diabetes Action Plan has already been
put in place through legislation or by executive order in about 20 states. Last
year, this bill passed the House last year before dying in the Senate at the
end of the session.
The MMS urges the Committee on Public Health to act
favorably on H.1128.
