Florida Senate - 2017                            (NP)    SR 1832
       
       
        
       By Senator Stargel
       
       
       
       
       
       22-02321-17                                           20171832__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing November 2017 as “Diabetes
    3         and Heart Disease Awareness Month” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, diabetes affects more than 29 million Americans,
    6  including more than 2.4 million Floridians, and is a chronic
    7  condition that occurs when the body does not properly produce or
    8  use the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar, and
    9         WHEREAS, type 2 diabetes is the most common type of
   10  diabetes, representing an estimated 90 to 95 percent of all
   11  diagnosed adult diabetes cases in the United States, and
   12         WHEREAS, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death
   13  nationally, and
   14         WHEREAS, of the more than 29 million people who have
   15  diabetes nationally, more than 8 million are undiagnosed and
   16  unaware they have the disease, and
   17         WHEREAS, the number of adults with type 2 diabetes in the
   18  Florida Medicaid program increased from more than 93,900 in the
   19  2009-2010 state fiscal year to more than 120,900 in the 2014
   20  2015 state fiscal year, and the total cost of diabetes in the
   21  Florida Medicaid program in the 2014-2015 state fiscal year was
   22  $142 million, and
   23         WHEREAS, the estimated total cost of diabetes in Florida in
   24  2012 was $24.3 billion, including $19.3 billion in direct
   25  medical costs, and
   26         WHEREAS, cardiovascular disease, a class of diseases
   27  involving the heart or blood vessels, is the leading cause of
   28  death associated with diabetes due to complications associated
   29  with the disease, such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure,
   30  and obesity, which can result in heart attacks, heart failure,
   31  and stroke, and
   32         WHEREAS, people with type 2 diabetes are two to four times
   33  more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, and
   34         WHEREAS, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes increases with
   35  age and affects more than one in four seniors over the age of 65
   36  in the United States, and Florida has the largest percentage of
   37  population in this demographic in the nation, and
   38         WHEREAS, one in ten Medicare enrollees in Florida has
   39  diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and
   40         WHEREAS, a recent study shows that 52 percent of adults
   41  living with type 2 diabetes are unaware that they are at
   42  increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and
   43         WHEREAS, two out of three deaths in Americans with type 2
   44  diabetes are attributed to cardiovascular disease, and
   45         WHEREAS, diabetes costs America $245 billion annually, with
   46  direct medical costs accounting for $176 billion of the total
   47  costs in 2012, and
   48         WHEREAS, appropriate awareness and education about the
   49  cardiovascular risks associated with diabetes can effectively
   50  improve the overall outcome and reduce the financial burden of
   51  the illness, and
   52         WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Health and other
   53  partners are seeking to promote awareness, education, and action
   54  related to diabetes and the link to cardiovascular disease, and
   55         WHEREAS, it is essential that state agencies, public health
   56  authorities, health care providers, insurers, and other health
   57  care stakeholders promote education and awareness of the
   58  connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, risk
   59  factors, and opportunities to promote better health for the
   60  individuals and populations at risk, NOW, THEREFORE,
   61  
   62  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   63  
   64         That November 2017 is recognized as “Diabetes and Heart
   65  Disease Awareness Month” in Florida.
   66         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate recognizes
   67  the policy recommendations of the Florida Diabetes Advisory
   68  Council contained in its 2017 Florida Diabetes Report and
   69  encourages the organization’s efforts to raise awareness of and
   70  address the connection between diabetes and cardiovascular
   71  disease.