Medical expenditure for diabetic patients: A 10-year follow-up study of National Health Insurance in Shiga, Japan.

The article discusses a 10-year follow-up study of National Health Insurance (NHI) in Shiga, Japan to determine the medical expenditure of diabetics. Results show that the average of total medical expenses per diabetic was double that in the non-diabetes category. Some limitations of the study include the lack of objective information on diabetic status and limitation of participants to self-employed NHI beneficiaries. It concludes that Japanese NHI beneficiaries with diabetes incur higher medical expenditure compared with those without diabetes.