The Value of Diabetes Education for Employers

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 40 million Americans live with diabetes —96 percent of which have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Also, more that a third of Americans over the age of 18 have prediabetes. What do these numbers look like in your workplace?

Diabetes in the workplace

Diabetes is expensive—for employees and for employers. Supporting your workforce in preventing type 2 diabetes and effectively managing existing diabetes leads to better health, greater productivity, and lower overall healthcare costs. Forward-thinking employers recognize that investing in diabetes education, including prevention and management isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a smart business decision.

Cost of diabetes to employers

According to the CDC, as of 2024 the indirect costs of diabetes total $305 billion, including:

• Lost productivity due to morbidity: $157 billion
• Lost productivity due to premature deaths attributed to diabetes: $148 billion

Direct costs: $335 billion, including hospitalization, medical care, treatment and supplies, and other costs.

Total costs: $640 billion

This is an opportunity for population health improvement – and it starts in the workplace.

At Marathon Health, we’ve found that patients identified with diabetes that utilize their employers’ onsite health center cost 39 percent less than diabetes patients that are not engaged with the onsite health center. Let’s explore how employers can reduce the risk and cost for diabetes within the workforce.

How can employers help with diabetes education?

Diabetes Self-Management services are a great place to start. The CDC considers Diabetes Self-Management services to be a cornerstone of care. They recommend that every patient with diabetes receive diabetes education to gain knowledge, skills, and guidance to manage this costly and often debilitating condition. However, only 57 percent of patients with diabetes have had access to these types of services in their lifetime. We’ve got work to do.

At Marathon Health, we offer Diabetes Self-Management Services at our onsite health centers to help employers and employees remove as many barriers to care as possible.

Benefits of onsite diabetes education and management

1. Less work conflicts

Diabetes educational services are usually offered during work hours at offsite health systems and hospitals. This requires employees to take a day off work, or even two to three hours, to access these services. Onsite healthcare removes those barriers to care by providing convenient and accessible diabetes and nutrition education services.

2. Lower cost

Diabetes education services can come with sticker shock. Visits to offsite providers generally cost $20-50 dollar per session, which can cost employees up to $500 in diabetes education programming. Paired with an onsite health center, Diabetes Self-Management educational services, support groups, nutrition counseling, supplies, and glucose monitors are offered at little to no cost to employees right at work.

3. Mitigating the lack of local, skilled diabetes educators

There’s a shortage of diabetes educators nationwide. Numerous studies show that diabetes educators have a very positive effect on a patient’s A1c measures. However, the approximately 20,000 registered diabetes educators are too small to meet the demand.” When a diabetes educator is located onsite, they are solely focused on meeting the needs of your employee population. Education is the foundation of health awareness and improvement. Now that you’re educated about the needs of your employees living with diabetes, you too can take appropriate action to prevent and manage this disease among your workforce.

Summary

Diabetes affects more than 40 million Americans and costs employers an estimated $640 billion annually in direct and indirect expenses, including lost productivity and medical care. With over one-third of adults living with prediabetes, workplaces represent a critical opportunity for prevention and disease management. Employers that invest in accessible Diabetes Self-Management education — particularly through onsite health centers — can significantly reduce barriers to care, improve health outcomes, lower overall healthcare costs, and support a healthier, more productive workforce.