The number of new diabetes cases identified among poor Americans has surged in states that have embraced the Affordable Care Act, but not in those that have not, a new study has found, suggesting that the health care law may be helping thousands of people get earlier treatment for one of this country’s costliest medical conditions.
One in 10 Americans have diabetes, and nearly a third of cases have not been diagnosed. The disease takes a toll if it is caught too late, eventually causing heart attacks, blindness, kidney failure and leg and foot amputations. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionestimates that the disease accounts for $176 billion in medical costs annually. The poor and minorities are disproportionately affected.
[For more of this story, written by Sabrina Tavernise, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03...&WT.nav=top-news]
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