Skip to content
KFF Health News KFF Health News KFF Health News KFF Health News
Donate
  • Donate
  • Connect With Us:
  • Contact
  • X
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Trump 2.0
    • Agency Watch
    • Medicaid Watch
    • State Watch
    • Rural Health Payout
  • Public Health
  • Race & Health
  • Audio
    • KFF Health News Minute
    • What the Health?
    • Health Care Helpline
    • An Arm and a Leg
    • Silence in Sikeston
    • Epidemic
  • Investigations
    • Bill Of The Month
    • Deadly Denials
    • The Body Shops
    • Broken Rehab
    • Guns, Race, and Profit
    • Dead Zone
    • Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash
    • Overpayment Outrage
    • Diagnosis: Debt
    • ALL INVESTIGATIONS
  • More Topics
    • Abortion
    • Aging
    • Climate
    • COVID-19
    • Health Care Costs
    • Insurance
    • Medicaid
    • Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Pharma
    • Rural Health
    • Uninsured

Robert Benincasa, NPR

@RobertBenincasa

A woman in a red blouse with short sleeves stands in a doorway with her hand on one side of the frame and looks at the camera.

Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt

By Robert Benincasa, NPR and Nick McMillan, NPR May 30, 2023 KFF Health News Original

The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, KFF Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Latest Morning Briefing Stories

  • First Edition: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026 6:34 AM ET

  • Viewpoints: Denmark’s Vaccine Success Can’t Be Copied In The US; New Dietary Guidelines Don’t Make Sense Jan 13

  • New Way To Fight Alzheimer’s Uses Protein Found In Garlic Jan 13

  • Science, Not Politics, Guided FDA’s Decisions On Abortion Pill: Analysis Jan 13

  • UnitedHealth’s Extreme Tactics Upped Medicare Payouts, Senate Inquiry Finds Jan 13

Email Sign-Up

More From KFF Health News

A photo of an emergency room sign for Bellville Medical Center. The American flag and the Texas flag are seen on poles next to it.

States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans

A photo of an older man having a bandage placed on his arm after receiving a vaccine.

Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew

A photo zoomed in close-up on an ingredients list. The focus is on a list of food dyes.

RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement Has Picked Up Steam in Statehouses. Here’s What To Expect in 2026.

Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’

KFF

© 2026 KFF. All rights reserved.

  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Staff
  • Republish Our Content
  • Email Sign-Up
  • X
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • RSS

Powered by WordPress VIP

Thank you for your interest in supporting KFF Health News, the nation’s leading nonprofit newsroom focused on health and health policy. We distribute our journalism for free and without advertising through media partners of all sizes and in communities large and small. We appreciate all forms of engagement from our readers and listeners, and welcome your support.

KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). You can support KHN by making a contribution to KFF, a non-profit charitable organization that is not associated with Kaiser Permanente.

Click the button below to go to KFF’s donation page which will provide more information and FAQs. Thank you!

Continue