The burden of chronic disease poses a serious challenge to the sustainability of health care in the United States. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease highlighted in a recent release that 75 percent of what America spends on health care goes to treating chronic illnesses. In Medicare and Medicaid alone, chronic disease treatment accounts for more than 95 percent of spending.

Medical innovation, improved access to treatment and new treatment protocols have helped to significantly cut death rates from cancer in the U.S. over the past few decades.  This correlates to a recent report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics noting that the age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. population fell to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009.

According to a recent report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, the age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. population fell to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009 - 2.3 percent lower than the 2008 rate. This marks the 10th year in a row that U.S. deaths rates have declined.

According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, health care costs for people with a chronic condition are five times higher than for those without such a condition. Poor health and chronic disease reduce economic productivity by contributing to increased absenteeism, poor performance, and other losses.

Over 75 percent of health care expenditures are attributable to chronic diseases that can be prevented or managed. Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of employer sponsored health plans that offer health management or wellness.