Lack of Affordable Health Insurance Means More Amputations for the PoorMarch 2008
According to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, between 2001 and 2004, hospitalizations of adult Hispanics for diabetes-related foot or leg amputations increased from 63 per 100,000 people to nearly 80 per 100,000. Why such an increase? The lack of
medical insurance available at affordable rates means that too many low-income American citizens are getting substandard diabetes treatment.
Affordable health insurance means checkups for patients, and more time with doctors, which can not only lead to the better treatment of diabetes, but can help to prevent the disease in the first place.
Diabetes-related leg or foot amputations usually occur because the disease reduces the blood circulation. In addition, diabetes-related nerve damage can impair a person's ability to feel a blister or sore, which increases the risk of infection.
But the same study found that the lack of
affordable health insurance meant that only 38% of Hispanic diabetes patients age 40 and over had three recommended annual screenings, foot exams, eye exams and blood sugar level checks, in 2004.
This information compounds other studies this year that have linked a lack of medical insurance to late cancer diagnosis, heart disease, and higher levels of mortality. These kinds of studies have led many critics of the health care system to argue that by offering affordable health insurance to the public, not only would lives be saved, but the decrease in medical debt expenditures would save money too.
Facts on:
Medical Insurance and Diabetes
Did you know...
Only 38% of Hispanic diabetes patients age 40 and over had three recommended annual screenings, foot exams, eye exams and blood sugar level checks, in 2004?
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Solutions for this issue range from universal health care, to a renegotiation of the medical insurance market itself, but in either case it's clear to all that the health care system needs to see change.
However, change takes time. And for those who have diabetes, cancer, or even no illness at all, avoiding regular medical treatment is the worst way to protect your health. This is why the best health insurance plans are those that offer yearly checkups, since it's those checkups that provide patients with valuable time to speak with their doctors about their health.
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