Amid progress in diabetes treatments and technology, the rate of amputations rose 50% between 2009 and 2015. African American patients lose limbs at triple the rate of other groups. The mission of the Affordable Care Act—spend more to prevent disease and complications, and save money later—has bypassed many of these patients for one reason: they lack access to care.
The last decade has brought great strides in diabetes care. Better insulins and better technology can allow people with diabetes—both type 1 and type 2—to keep their blood sugar from rising and falling in ways that cause long-term damage to their eyesight and vascular systems. New classes of drugs for patients with type 2 diabetes have been shown to cut the risk of heart and renal failure, and more widespread use could help some patients avoid dialysis.
But the good news is not felt by everyone. Amid this progress, the rate of amputations rose 50% between 2009 and 2015. African American patients lose limbs at triple the rate of other groups.
The mission of the Affordable Care Act—spend more to prevent disease and complications, and save money later—has bypassed many of these patients for one reason: they lack access to care. Fourteen states have not expanded Medicaid, including several Deep South states where diabetes and obesity rates are highest.
The result of these state-level policy decisions is becoming clear. Research presented at the recent meeting of the American Diabetes Association found a 17% decrease in the risk of amputation when patients lived in states that expanded Medicaid. What’s more, the number of hospital admissions for diabetic foot ulcers plummeted in states that expanded Medicaid, while rising 21% in states that rejected expansion.
None of this is news to Foluso Fakorede, MD, who treats patients at risk of limb loss in the Mississippi Delta. Fakorede spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care® about his work in Mississippi, through his practice, Cardiovascular Solutions of Central Mississippi.
Listen above or through one of these podcast services:
Heart Failure Coverage Success Seen in Medicaid Expansion States
Diabetes Shouldn't Cost Patients Their Legs
Understanding Diabetes Risks Can Save Your Limbs
Read more:
Perioperative Nivolumab Boosts NSCLC Survival: CheckMate 77T Trial
May 16th 2024This interim analysis of the CheckMate 77T trial, outcomes were compared between adult patients receiving neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy or neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus placebo for resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Congress Urged to Repeal Comstock Act Threatening Reproductive Rights and Public Health
May 16th 2024In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.
Read More