Senate Resolution No. 264

BY: Senator RIVERA

MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
November 2019, as Diabetes Awareness Month in the
State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2019, as Diabetes
Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the
observance of National Diabetes Awareness Month; and

WHEREAS, Diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the United
States, is a chronic disease in which blood sugar levels are above
normal; and

WHEREAS, Diabetes affects more than 30 million Americans in the
United States and 1.7 million New Yorkers; the percent of New York State
adults with diabetes increased from 6.3% in 2000 to 10.5% in 2016; and

WHEREAS, There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, which
occurs when one's body cannot make insulin (occurs in 5% of people with
diabetes), type 2, which occurs when one's body does not use insulin
well and is unable to keep blood sugar at normal levels (occurs in 90%
of people with diabetes), and gestational diabetes, which occurs in some
pregnant women and can lead to type 2 diabetes in the future; and

WHEREAS, Before most people develop diabetes, they generally
experience a stage of prediabetes, which occurs when one's blood sugar
levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as
diabetes; people with prediabetes are at increased risk for developing
type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke; prediabetes affects 4.5
million New Yorkers, 86 million people in the Unites States, and 15-30%
of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five
years; and

WHEREAS, People can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes by making
healthier life and food choices, losing small amounts of weight, and
being more physically active; and

WHEREAS, According to the New York State Department of Health,
diabetes reached epidemic proportions in New York State with an overall
annual cost of diabetes, attributable to both direct medical costs and
lost productivity, of $12 billion for all payers; and

WHEREAS, The American Heart Association considers diabetes to be one
of the seven major controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease;
CDC Medicare data, compiled from 2012-2016, states that the total amount
paid for Cardiovascular Disease was $7.8 billion for 21,162 New York
beneficiaries; and

WHEREAS, The goal is for Diabetes Awareness Month to increase the
amount of education and attentiveness dedicated to diabetes in New York
State, to improve the overall health outcomes of New Yorkers and to
relieve the financial burden associated with the disease; now,
therefore, be it


RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2019, as
Diabetes Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
New York.