Category: Diabetes

Poll: 1 in 8 Adults Say They’ve Taken a GLP-1 Drug, Including 4 in 10 of Those with Diabetes and 1 in 4 of Those with Heart Disease 

About one in eight adults (12%) say they have taken one of an increasingly popular class of prescription drugs known as GLP-1s that are used for weight loss and to treat diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, a new KFF Health Trackin…

Growing up with diabetes

An excerpt from Sugar Free. “What do you want to do?” Ginny said. “Chinese jump rope.” “Tilly, you always want to play Chinese jump rope,” Renée said. “So?” Tilly said. Renée didn’t have an answer t…

Biden Is Right About $35 Insulin Cap but Exaggerates Prior Costs for Medicare Enrollees

Most Medicare enrollees likely were not paying a monthly average of $400 — as President Joe Biden stated — before the insulin cap took effect. However, because costs and other factors result in widely varying prices, some Medicare enrollees might have paid that much in a given month.

As AI Eye Exams Prove Their Worth, Lessons for Future Tech Emerge

With artificial intelligence in health care on the rise, eye screenings for diabetic retinopathy are emerging as one of the first proven use cases of AI-based diagnostics in a clinical setting.

An Arm and a Leg: Wait, Is Insulin Cheaper Now?

Did the price of insulin go down? It’s not quite that simple. On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” producer Emily Pisacreta explores recent changes to the cost of the diabetes medication.

States Target Health Insurers’ ‘Prior Authorization’ Red Tape

Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they’ll pay for patients’ drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.

Beyond the headlines: the truth about weight loss drugs [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with David Ahn, an endocrinologist. Join us as we delve into the impact of weight-loss drugs, the role of incretin medications, and their potential to reshape our approach to ob…

High-deductible health plans: a barrier to care for chronic conditions

At the peak of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, American policymakers were faced with the critical challenge of how to encourage as many Americans as possible to be tested for and vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Fortunately, Congress rose to this…

Will GLP-1s allow our society to eschew its responsibility to create a healthy environment?

Since Ozempic entered the cultural zeitgeist, I have been overwhelmed with requests from my patients – both those who meet criteria to start the medication and those who do not – for this new class of “miracle” drug. While it does work like…

Beyond Insulin: Medi-Cal Expands Patient Access to Diabetes Supplies

California’s Medicaid program is making it easier for people with diabetes to obtain the supplies and equipment they need to manage their blood sugar, partly by relaxing preauthorization requirements that can cause life-threatening delays.