A new report by found that treating type 2 diabetes in Pittsburgh is less expensive than the state and national average. The annual average in 2005 for type 2 diabetes inpatient hospitalizations in Pittsburgh was $32,354 -- lower than the national average of $39,401, as well as the Pennsylvania average of $54,795. The average annual office visit charges for treating people with Type 2 diabetes in Pittsburgh was $1,002 in 2005. This was also lower than the state average of $1,289 and the national average of $3,266.
The Pittsburgh Business Group developed the Pittsburgh Type 2 diabetes report to serve as a useful resource for employers in their efforts to provide work-site wellness and care management programs to help employees manage chronic conditions like diabetes more effectively. How could one anonymously sign-up for such a workplace offering anyhow? I'm thinking aloud, but I'd probably prefer to keep my diabetes cloaked at work - but that's just me. I blog for a living.
Although these findings are truly interesting - it begs the question what's so much cheaper about Pittsburgh? I found a tourist summary that may lend some clues.
Did you know Pittsburgh has the lowest crime rate of the top 25 metropolitan areas in the United States? Yes sir. And affordable housing isn't a problem either (may be why the cost of healthcare is more affordable for diabetics, too). The average existing home sold for $118,000, or 43% below the national average. Home to 34 colleges and universities, including two - Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh - the area is consistently featured as among the best in the nation for high quality education. Bottom line is the cost of living is 93% of the national average. I was looking for facts that might balance the scale a little but I was hard-pressed to find bad news. Wait a minute - if you consider a dropping population bad, there's your rotten apple. Yeah, who wants to move someplace where the population density is thick as mud?
With all the money you'll save on your diabetes care :::::::WARNING: extreme over exaggeration::::::: you can nestle yourself and your loved one's up in a cozy little 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath palatial estate, costing a mere $1.325 million. What you'll save in diabetes dollars you'll luxuriate in lifestyle.
