The Milken Institute released an impressive study that demonstrates the heavy economic burden chronic disease places on our nation. “An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease” shows the current treatment costs of seven chronic diseases (cancers, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, mental disorders and pulmonary conditions) and the economic impacts of lost workdays and lower employee productivity across all 50 states and the nation as a whole. The study finds that the annual economic impact on the U.S. economy of the most common chronic diseases is more than $1 trillion, and could reach nearly $6 trillion by the middle of the century. This study will be an important addition to the ongoing debate over the costs of health care in the United States, and what can be done to reduce this economic burden.