Lack of Affordable Health Insurance Means More Amputations for the PoorMarch 2008
According to a recent study from the
U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, between 2001 and 2004, the hospitalizations of adult Hispanics for foot or leg amputations related to diabetes increased from 63 per 100,000 people to almost 80 per 100,000. Why was there such an increase? Apparently, the lack of
medical insurance at affordable rates means that many lower-income American citizens are getting sub-standard diabetes treatment.
More affordable health insurance would mean yearly checkups for patients, and more time to talk with doctors, which would lead not only to improved treatments for diabetes, but could help to prevent the onset of the disease in the first place.
Diabetes-related leg and foot amputations occur because the disease reduces the blood circulation to the affected limb. In addition, diabetes-related damage to nerves can impair a person's ability to feel a blister or a sore, which increases their risk of infection.
The same study also found that the absence of
affordable health insurance meant that only 38% of Hispanic diabetes patients over age 40 had thier three recommended annual screenings, eye exams, foot exams and blood sugar checks.
This information adds to that of other studies that have linked a lack of medical insurance to late cancer diagnosis, greater percentages of heart disease, and higher levels of mortality all around. These kinds of studies have led many critics of our health care system to argue that by offering more affordable health insurance to the public, not only could we save lives, but the decrease in our medical debt expenditures would save us some 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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Theoretical solutions for this issue range from offering universal health care, to a total renegotiation of the medical insurance market itself, but in either case it's clear to everyone that our health care system needs a major change.
For those who have diabetes, cancer, or even healthy people who have no illness at all, avoiding regular appointments and medical care 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 during those checkups that doctors provide patients with valuable time discuss their health.
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