My husband is a type 2 diabetic with mild chronic kidney disease, which has been well controlled on 500 mg metformin BID plus saxagliptin (AstraZeneca’s Onglyza). At the end of last year, he got a letter from his Medicare Advantage PPO, UnitedHea…
Category: Diabetes
As VA Tests Keto Diet To Help Diabetic Patients, Skeptics Raise Red Flags
The Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with Virta Health, a California startup that offers remote coaching and monitoring for people with Type 2 diabetes to help them follow the ultra-low carbohydrate diet.
The Health Care Promises We Cannot Keep
Family caregivers pledge to fulfill their loved ones’ end-of-life wishes. But too often circumstances change, and they must break their word and guard against breaking hearts ― including their own.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: A Medical Bill Ninja Shares Her Secrets
On Season 3, Episode 2 of the podcast “An Arm and a Leg,” an Illinois woman harnesses a lifetime of experience — and frustration — with health care finances to help other people solve their medical bill problems.
How Have Diabetes Costs and Outcomes Changed Over Time in the U.S.?
In 2017, 7.2% of the U.S. population was diagnosed with diabetes – an 188% increase from 1980. This slideshow documents trends in health outcomes, quality of care, and spending on treatment for people in the U.S. with diabetes. It also looks at the cos…
It’s Not Just Insulin: Diabetes Patients Struggle To Get Crucial Supplies
The latest technology makes managing Type 1 diabetes much easier. But managing insurance company rules for the supplies is a big obstacle for some patients.
Millions Of Diabetes Patients Are Missing Out On Medicare’s Nutrition Help
Health experts say the little-used benefit represents a lost opportunity for older adults to improve their health — and for the program to save money by preventing costly complications from diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
DIY Tech Gives People More Freedom In Managing Diabetes
People with diabetes say they’ve been waiting for years for better technology to manage their chronic condition. Tired of waiting, some tech-savvy, do-it-yourselfers are constructing their own devices using open-source programming instructions.
How coding is like Scrabble
One of the great nuisances in medicine is diagnosis coding. According to Medicare and insurance companies across the U.S., each and every disease must have a unique number. Everything must be quantified and recorded. Why? To facilitate analysis, number…
MKSAP: 45-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 45-year-old woman is evaluated for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosed 3 months ago. She was asymptomatic at diagnosis with an…
