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We've heard about it with cancer diagnosis, kidney disease, and even dental work, but now it seems that we can add diabetes and vascular disease to the list of disease impacted by individual access to affordable health insurance.

According to a recent article at the New York Times, your race and the state that you live in have a "staggering impact" on the quality of health care you will receive. And, when it comes to race and place, we also know that this translates to access to affordable health insurance. States with larger communities of socio-economically challenged populations just don't get the same medical care as those with richer populations.

The results of the study cited out of Dartmouth are disturbing. "Disparities in the rate of leg amputations were particularly stark. The rate for blacks was about 6 per 1,000 in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina, but less than 2 per 1,000 in Colorado and Nevada. The rates for whites in the three Southern states were much lower, about 1.3 per 1,000, but were still more than double the rates for whites in the two Western states."

Because of their limited access to affordable health insurance plans, these poorer populations of people are more likely to die of vascular disease or diabetes, or suffer long-term complications, such as amputation.

Here again is why it's so important to address health care in America; it's not just about who does and doesn't get top quality care, it's about the quality of life, and making sure that everyone has access to life-saving treatment.

One thing is certain - those people with some coverage are far better off than those who have none, so shopping around aggressively for the most affordable health insurance available is of prime importance to anyone who might suffer complications from diabetes and vascular disease.