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As the number of Americans with diabetes is at an all time high and another 54 million people are at-risk, I am pleased to join with colleagues and millions of Americans in recognizing November as American Diabetes Month.

With nearly 21 million children and adults in the U.S. living with this disease it is time to reassess our own fitness and nutrition choices, educate ourselves on the risk factors and encourage our loved ones to get tested. Early testing is crucial to saving lives or even preventing the onset of the disease in the first place. These numbers also translate to costing our country over $132 billion a year. When diabetes is diagnosed in later stages, the treatments are more extreme and hospital visits more frequent. Catching the disease in its early stages helps patients mitigate the harmful effects early.

Raising awareness about the devastating effects diabetes can have on people and their families must not go overlooked. Many people do not realize Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults between the ages of 20 and 74 years old. It also contributes to serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. Nationwide, 20.8 million people, or 7 percent of the population, have diabetes. Further, 14.6 million people have been diagnosed, 6.2 million are undiagnosed, at least 54 million people are pre-diabetic in this country and 246 million people have diabetes worldwide. These are startling statistics and the numbers continue to rise. It is crucial America improves upon its diet and exercise habits. Granted, additional research into treatments and cures are of importance, as well, but preventative measures of utmost need as this disease is clearly an epidemic.

There are many faces of diabetes from small children to young adults to the elderly. All can be affected by this disease. If current trends continue, one out of three Americans and one in two minorities born in 2000 will develop this disease in their lifetime. Since 1987 the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45 percent, while the death rates due to heart disease, stroke and cancer have declined. As a member of Congress, I want to ensure I do everything in my power to ensure Americans are empowered to take control of their health and get tested.

Of the 200,000 seniors going on to Medicare each month, 40,000 have diabetes, and 13,000-20,000 go undiagnosed. Too often, these seniors don’t receive the preventive care they need. As a result, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services 32 percent of the Medicare budget is spent on the 18 percent of beneficiaries with diabetes. The Medicare Modernization Act created a new diabetes screening benefit, helping enrollees detect the disease at its onset. Unfortunately, early results indicate that virtually no seniors are taking advantage of the benefit.

I am pleased to be a cosponsor of H.R. 3544, the Catalyst to Better Diabetes Care Act, which would ask CMS to review why this benefit has been poor and create an outreach program that would improve awareness of the benefit. Additionally, this legislation would promote employee wellness programs in the private sector, create a National Diabetes Report Card, which would track national progress in fighting the disease and improve diabetes mortality data collection, ensuring that we can adequately track the number of deaths relating to diabetes. In addition, the bill includes more diabetes education for medical students prior to becoming physicians. I am also concerned about the disparity between minority populations and pleased to be a cosponsor of both H.R.1031, the Minority Diabetes Initiative Act and H.R. 2210, the Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act. These bills address these disparities and provide for initiatives to reduce health disparities within racial and ethnic minority groups. I will also continue to work with my colleagues to address juvenile diabetes and increased funding for additional research as the number of cases continues to steadily increase.

I am honored to observe November as Diabetes Awareness Month, and I am hopeful with increased awareness of this devastating disease we can save more people from being diagnosed with diabetes and thus save more lives in the long run. Please contact the American Diabetes Association for more information at 1-800-DIABETES.

Congressman David Scott represents the 13th Congressional District of Georgia.