Tracey D. Brown, who lives with type 2 diabetes, is CEO of the American Diabetes Association, the nation's largest voluntary health organization and a global authority on diabetes. Jared Watkin is Senior Vice President, Diabetes Care, at Abbott, a leading global health technology company. Their op-ed, republished here, originally appeared in the Boston Herald.

The United States is the world's largest engine for healthcare innovation. We generate nearly 60% of the world's new medicines, undertake roughly half of the world's medical research and development, and boast the largest medical device market of any country on Earth.

Despite that, many Americans can't get access to these advances. Low-income Americans and people of color of all incomes lag far behind white and wealthier Americans when it comes to access to medical technology and the latest innovations.

In America's historically underserved communities, barriers to basic medical care are high. Low-income Americans and people of color are more likely to live in areas with fewer hospitals. They often must travel further to see a doctor — something that can make regular care more challenging for those without transportation or the time off from work they need.

In the diabetes community, these health disparities are laid bare. Diabetes rates are inversely related to income. Americans of color are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and other related chronic diseases as white Americans.

Because of the way diabetes disproportionately impacts those with the fewest resources, the condition is a bellwether for how the structural inequities that exist in our health care system manifest in poorer outcomes for so many vulnerable communities.

COVID-19 has vastly exacerbated this reality. Before the pandemic, people with diabetes in the U.S. spent two and a half times more on health care than those without the condition. With the unemployment rate for the diabetes community at one and a half times the national rate and a staggering 50% of Americans with diabetes having lost some or all income in the pandemic's wake, it's little wonder why one in four Americans with diabetes have turned to rationing insulin or other needed medications and supplies to afford their care during this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

Technologies like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors have transformed the diabetes management landscape, making the condition easier to live and thrive with than ever before. But access to these breakthrough technologies remains out of reach for many of those who stand to benefit most.