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Uninsured With Diabetes: How Student-Run Free Medical Clinics Are Filling the Gap

Two million American adults <65 years of age are reported to have diabetes and no health insurance coverage, a situation with significant public health and economic ramifications (1). Compared to their insured counterparts, uninsured people with diabetes have 60% fewer physician office visits, are prescribed 52% fewer medications, and have 168% more emergency department visits (2).

Within this context, student-run free medical clinics have emerged as a valuable component of the health care safety net for this patient population. Among the Association of American Medical Colleges’ member institutions, 106 student-run free clinics (at 75.2% of institutions) have been identified, a number that has more than doubled in the past 10 years (3). More than half of medical students were reported to be involved in these clinics, with diabetes and hypertension being the most commonly treated diseases (3).

The University of Missouri School of Medicine’s MedZou Community Health Clinic, located in Columbia, Mo., is a student-run clinic that provides comprehensive primary and specialty care to patients with chronic diseases, while also offering a learning environment promoting patient advocacy and interdisciplinary care. In Missouri, an alarming 10.8% of the state population has no health insurance and, with the state’s …