Economic costs of neoplasms, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes in the United States.

Substantial economic resources are used for treatment of neoplasms, arteriosclerotic diseases, and diabetes (direct costs), and substantial productivity is lost due to morbidity and mortality (indirect costs). Costs of these disease groups in the U.S. in 1993 are estimated from national health expenditures from the Health Care Financing Administration and survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Based on primary diagnosis, direct costs are $37 billion for neoplasms, $126 billion for arteriosclerosis, and $15 billion for diabetes, and indirect costs are $70, $83, and $5 billion respectively. Costs would be higher, particularly for diabetes ($92-138 billion), if based on primary and secondary diagnosis.