Health care workers in East Texas said easier access to health insurance — such as Medicaid — could help drive down the number of people living with uncontrolled diabetes.
Yolanda Seaton opens a box of diabetes medication at her home in Tyler. Seaton receives diabetes care at a local clinic that serves the working uninsured. The access has saved her vision.TYLER — Managing diabetes is difficult enough with health insurance. Doing it without insurance can feel impossible.among the poorest Americans — demands daily care and resources to keep it under control.
Within the state, rates are especially high across East Texas. In Smith County, which includes Tyler, 11.8% of adults ages 20 and older had diagnosed diabetes in 2020. A few counties south of there, in Angelina County, the rate was 14.5%. Farther east, on the border with Louisiana, Sabine County’s rate was 12.4%.
Aaron Dudley has been treating patients at the county health clinic in Lufkin for 14 years. He often sees the “worst of the worst” in severe diabetes outcomes.Aaron Dudley, a physician assistant at the Angelina County health clinic in Lufkin, often sees the “worst of the worst” diabetic complications. Most of his patients are uninsured or underinsured and end up at the clinic because they have no other options.
When diagnosed, a person can suddenly go from zero medical routine to daily blood-sugar testing, a cache of new prescriptions and constant vigilance against side effects, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, dizziness, fatigue, foot sores and anxiety. Lancing devices, lancets, test strips, alcohol wipes and blood monitors become part of one's life.“It’s kind of like a salmon swimming upstream,” said Marci Wright, a diabetes educator at UT Health East Texas in Tyler.
Roberson works at all three of the health center’s locations — including in Palestine and Mt. Enterprise — but spends most of his time in Henderson. About a third of his patients are uninsured; more than half have diabetes. Data pulled by Roberson for Public Health Watch show that among Crossroads’ three clinics, 30% of uninsured diabetic patients had uncontrolled diabetes — as measured by blood-sugar, or A1C, levels — versus 22% of insured patients.
More than 21% of Sabine County residents younger than 65 were uninsured in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. O’Hearn said the high rate puts “enormous pressure” on the small hospital. “Essentially, what we’ve created in Texas is primary care through the emergency room,” he said. More coverage would make life easier for many patients, he said, especially with access to a full range of treatments, including newer, more effective ones. But he doesn’t expect it to slow the growth in cases.Other issues include poor diets and obesity, lack of physical activity, poverty, and depression and stress tied to the demands of managing a chronic disease, Dudley and other providers said.
Born and raised in nearby Mabank, Rutledge spent much of his life in correctional and mental institutions. In 2019, two years since his last incarceration and unable to work, he qualified for Texas Medicaid due to severe disability from post-traumatic stress disorder. The clinic — East Texas Community Clinic, which serves uninsured and low-income residents in Henderson County — got Rutledge on a treatment plan and referred him to its diabetes educator.
Madison, who lives in Franklin, has had diabetes for nearly half his life. For years, he managed it using a health plan offered through his maintenance job at a local Head Start program. But his very-low income made the co-pays for diabetes medicines — up to $100 a month — a financial burden.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Texans rookies, including C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson, celebrate Halloween with patients at Texas Children’s HospitalTexans rookies celebrate Halloween at hospital
Read more »
East Cleveland man fatally shot on Cleveland’s East SideThe Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Christian Jones.
Read more »
Texas to get four new maternal health research centers amid mortality crisis for momsTexas continues to struggle with maternal mortality and morbidity, despite a decade of tracking and reviewing these cases. Four new research centers will pilot innovative solutions.
Read more »
Texas to get four new maternal health research centers amid mortality crisis for momsTexas continues to struggle with maternal mortality and morbidity, despite a decade of tracking and reviewing these cases. Four new research centers will pilot innovative solutions.
Read more »
Texas getting new maternal health research centers amid mortality crisisTexas continues to struggle with maternal mortality and morbidity, despite a decade of tracking and reviewing these cases. Four new research centers will pilot innovative solutions.
Read more »
It is Spine Health Awareness Month Try Out These Easy Spine Health TipsFor Spine Health Awareness Month we invited Dr. Ankur Khosla from AK Pain & Spine Center to the Houston Life studio to talk about turning off pain and taking care of our spines in the long run.
Read more »