Warnock, Young Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Healthcare Access for Americans with Diabetes

Over one million Georgians, around 12% of adults, live with diabetes. Senator Warnock's bipartisan legislation will make diabetic foot care more accessible

Senator Warnock has long championed access to affordable insulin, capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month

Senator Reverend Warnock: "This bipartisan legislation would make it easier for patients with diabetes to access therapeutic shoes and essential foot and ankle care, improving health outcomes and preventing costly complications"

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced a bipartisan bill to increase access to diabetic shoes for Americans suffering from diabetes. The Diabetic Foot Health Access and Modernization Act, implements commonsense reforms to federal healthcare by decreasing preventable complications, reducing healthcare costs, and ensuring that Americans with diabetes receive the timely medical care they need.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in America, impacting over 40 million people. Some individuals with diabetes face serious complications such as ulcers, neuropathy, infections, and lower extremity amputations. Proper foot care can prevent these risks, resulting in lower healthcare costs for Americans on Medicaid and Medicare.

"People with diabetes account for one in every four dollars spent in our health care system, making it one of our country's most costly diseases," said Senator Warnock."This bipartisan legislation would make it easier for patients with diabetes to access therapeutic shoes and essential foot and ankle care, improving health outcomes and preventing costly complications."

"Our bill will make it easier for Americans living with diabetes to access proper medical care that is critical to avoiding more serious health complications," said Senator Young. "Increasing access to care like this is important."

Senator Warnock has long been a champion of Americans living with diabetes. In March, Senators Warnock, Shaheen, Kennedy, and Collins introduced the INSULIN Act of 2026, legislation that caps out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month for private insurance insulin users and lowers the cost of insulin for uninsured diabetics. Since 2022, Senator Warnock has introduced legislation each Congress to lower insulin costs and help make prescription drug prices more affordable for Georgians. He first spearheaded legislation that was included in the Inflation Reduction Act and capped insulin costs for seniors at $35 per month. In 2023, Senators Warnock and Kennedy introduced the Affordable Insulin Now Act of 2023, to cap the cost of insulin for everyone who needs it at $35. Later in 2023, Warnock and Kennedy released a report analyzing county-level data across the country to examine counties with both high rates of uninsured people and high rates of diabetes - which the Senators termed "Insulin Deserts".