The Hidden Cost Lurking in Diabetes Management
Every health plan leader knows diabetes is expensive. But what’s often overlooked is just how disproportionately costly diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are — especially when they lead to amputations. These preventable complications affect a small subset of your diabetic population, yet they can drive over $100,000 in cost per case, skyrocket avoidable utilization, and devastate member health outcomes.
And most health plans are missing it entirely.
DFUs Are the #1 Driver of Amputations — and a Massive Cost Center
- Up to 85% of diabetes-related amputations are preventable.
- A single amputation can cost $100,000 or more.
- Patients with DFUs are 3x more likely to be hospitalized for any reason during their care episode.
- The 5-year mortality rate after an amputation is over 60% — double the rate for most cancers
→ Read: Hiding in Plain Sight Report
Yet despite these staggering stats, DFUs are rarely a focus in diabetes management programs. Why?
The Problem You Can’t See (Until It’s Too Late)
DFUs are notoriously difficult to detect early. Neuropathy and retinopathy — common in advanced diabetes — mean patients often can’t feel or see the warning signs of a developing ulcer. Add in barriers like transportation, missed follow-ups, and social determinants of health and it’s no surprise:
One in ten people with diabetes has already experienced an amputation.
Most of these complications begin quietly, progress quickly, and require extensive medical intervention once they surface. And by the time they’re visible to a clinician, it’s often too late to prevent high-cost treatment or limb loss.
How Much Are These Complications Costing You?
Data from Intermountain Health and Kaiser Permanente found that patients with DFUs:
- Drove 2x more ER visits
- Had significantly higher all-cause hospitalizations
- Incurred 3–4x higher per-member-per-year costs
- Were more likely to suffer recurrent complications within a year
Even worse, the top 5% of diabetes patients — many of whom experience DFUs — account for 50% of diabetes-related costs.
For plans operating in value-based contracts or Medicaid markets, these avoidable costs can make or break medical loss ratios.
A Smarter Approach to DFU Prevention: Thermometry + Support
Modern prevention doesn’t require daily foot exams or member guesswork. Leading systems are turning to foot temperature monitoring — a long-standing clinical best practice that detects inflammation weeks before a DFU presents.
Here’s how it works with Podimetrics:
- Members stand on a SmartMat for 20 seconds a day
- Temperature data is transmitted automatically
- Podimetrics’ clinical team monitors for “hotspots”
- Proactive outreach happens before visible wounds appear
And it works.
- 71% reduction in diabetic amputations
- 52% reduction in all-cause hospitalizations
- 3.6x–5.2x ROI per member per year
Why Podimetrics Works When Other RPM Programs Don’t
Many remote patient monitoring solutions suffer from low adherence and low impact. Podimetrics was built for the complex diabetic population with behavioral, environmental, and social challenges in mind:
- No Wi-Fi or smartphone required
- 75%+ of members use the SmartMat weekly — even after 1 year
- Clinical support and patient outreach are included
- Implementation takes as little as 90 days
It’s low-lift for your team and high-impact for your highest-risk members.
→ Learn More About Podimetrics for Payors
What This Means for Your Plan
If your plan is managing diabetic populations, especially in Medicaid or value-based models, the question is no longer “Should we address DFUs?”
It’s “How much are we losing by waiting?”
You already have high-risk members in your population. Many are progressing toward avoidable amputations right now — quietly inflating your costs and degrading outcomes.
