Efforts to address growing diabetes concerns among African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans suffered a major setback most recently in California when Assemblymember and Appropriations Committee Chair Mark Leno killed a diabetes bill that hoped to help alleviate this growing public health crisis. The bill was an expressed priority of the California Democrat Legislative Black Caucus. After listening to extensive information on the increasing diabetes epidemic and the disproportionate suffering from diabetes it in minority communities Leno, with the authority as Chair of the Appropriations Committee, still moved to kill the bill by placing the bill in suspense file.
In the late 1990s California experienced a 60% increase in diabetes among the adult population. In tandem with national trends, it is California’s minority populations who suffer in the highest numbers from this diabetes epidemic and obesity. The bill, which was brought forth by Mervyn M Dymally Legislative Black Caucus Chair and Assemblymember from Compton, presented to Leno and the committee the disproportionate statistics and immediate health concerns of diabetes effecting minority communities. Dymally explained that 10.3% of African American, 9.3% of Native Americans, and 6.0% of Latinos suffer from diabetes and obesity compared with 5.6% of whites and 4.7% of Asian Pacific Islander communities. For those diagnosed with diabetes health related problems can be very serious including high blood pressure, blindness, heart disease, and even fatalities. Moreover, minority communities suffer the highest number of diabetes related deaths compared with the general population of those diagnosed with diabetes.
The bill, that Leno effectively made sure would never be enacted, proposed to study the factors and causes contributing to high rates of diabetes and obesity in Latinos, African-Americans, and Native Americans in this country, starting with California. The bill would further have called for a task force to prepare a report containing recommendations on how to reduce instances of diabetes and such debilitating conditions among these ethnic groups. Dymally as Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus expressed his deep concern and dismay over Leno’s actions in the Appropriations Committee in killing the bill.

Ignorance is rampant in this country, yet I am glad we can opine. Having lived through the 60′s and 70′s and supposed ice age comments by Paul Ehrlich (that days useful idiot like Al Gore). Man is not that powerful to mess things up. Having traveled to 40+ countries and witnessing first hand the health care given and denied, plus witnessing earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions remember Pinutubo? Most of you do not have clue what I am talking about because of your historic and geographic ignorance. Thanks for listening.

P.S. I am type II and am thankful I will live a long life due to pharma research!

I live in Canada. Doctors visits are “free”. Wait times are sometimes lengthy, and the system is not perfect. But I know that a student, senior, or poor person with Type 1 diabetes does not have to die, since they can all get equal access to a specialist. Bloodwork is free. Diabetes education classes are free. Treatment of complications is
free.

There is an issue when it comes to prescriptions. Overall, we pay a fraction of what the US pays. For instance, I pay $28 Canadian for a vial of Humalog. The issue is that different provinces have different prescription payment plans.

I am lucky. Once I pay 3% of my income, ALL of my test strips, insulin, insulin pump supplies, etc. are free, 100% covered. Some provinces do not cover anything. However, the Canadian Diabetes Association is working on a National Drug Plan with the government that will equalize the coverage of diabetes supplies nationwide. The goal is that no one will have to pay more than 3% of their income on supplies.

The problem is that the government does not want to pay for a largely preventable lifestyle choice disease (Type 2 diabetes). It will be hard to convince them that Type 1 diabetics, who need the plan most to *live*, should not be suffering just because of others. This is because we are such small numbers compared to Type 2.

When it comes to Type 2 diabetes, the focus will *always* be on prevention, since most cases can be prevented.

I have to admit it has been hard to go to government meetings and have them say to a thin Type 1 that we “need to get the kids off junk food so we can prevent diabetes in the first place instead of pay for it”, knowing that they don’t have a clue that Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented.

For the US, perhaps the ADA needs to get involved here. Either way, it’s really sad that people have to die because they are born with the genes for Type 1 diabetes and can’t afford to live.

What can be done? Wipe out Type 2 diabetes, because it is a drain on the system. We know 80-90% of cases can be prevented or delayed into old age, and are a direct result of lifestyle. People who refuse to change their habits can pay for their own healthcare. Many Type 2 diabetics could go off medication if they really made the effort to change early on. It is a lie that Type 2 is a progressive disease. Perhaps if you follow the high carb ADA diet..hey, it keeps them with supporters!

Second, Type 1 diabetics diagnosed in childhood should not have a blanket ban for coverage and should be assessed on an individual basis. I find it illogical that an overweight Type 2 diabetic with heart disease can get coverage but a complication free Type 1 diagnosed at age 17 can not.

The government should also regulate Big Pharma, limiting profit mark-ups on vital medications and supplies.

Lastly, medicare/caid should cover *anyone* without coverage, at least until they are able to find a job. There needs to be a back up plan, especially for those who will die without insulin or end in in a bed in the ER.

Free market?!?!? No, it’s not a free market if there is only one company producing the drug you need and you have no alternative but to pay what they charge or die. Ever heard of drug patents? And if it’s such a “free market”, why are the pharmaceutical companies pushing for legislation to ban Americans from getting drugs from other countries? Especially since oftentimes the drugs are manufactured right here in the good ol’ USA, sold and shipped to another country, and then re-routed back to American consumers at a more reasonable price. Afraid of a little competition within a free market, eh?

And “cap on what they can pay their employees”?!?!? I work for a hospital that is owned by an insurance company and while the CEOs are rolling in money, the rest of us employees, you know, the ones actually doing the WORK, are by no stretch of the imagination rolling in money.

You must be pretty well off if not outright rich Island. You just proved to me what I’ve always thought all along, once you reach a certain level you just piss on the rest of us.

It’s a free market system. If you have something I want you can charge whatever I am willing to pay for it. Caps on price of what drug companies charge mean caps on profits which means caps on what they can pay employees which means caps on my take home pay which means caps on where what house I can buy and where my kids go to college. Screw that shit. I want a house, a car, college tuition for my kids, retirement savings and a vacation.

Also, the profits from drug A are to allay the cost of the risk that drug B might be a dismal failure.

btw, I’m neither advocating nor dissing the whole Socialized Medicine concept: I’m just saying that the BlogHer initiative is looking for SOME GOOD IDEAS to improve healthcare… So rather than sniping at each other, how ’bout we come up with some?