Hospital readmissions for diabetes-related complications vary both according to race and insurance coverage.

An analysis of non-maternal adult diabetics with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance showed Hispanics with all types of insurance and blacks who were Medicare beneficiaries had higher readmission rates than whites. The analysis focused on adults who were readmitted to hospitals in five states after being initially hospitalized for diabetes-related complications.

Within each insurance payer, Hispanics from low-income communities had the highest rates of readmission, and among Medicare beneficiaries, blacks and Hispanics had higher readmission rates for acute complications and microvascular conditions, while whites had higher readmission rates for macrovascular conditions. In other words, blacks and Hispanics are at higher risk for being readmitted to the hospitals for conditions that could have been prevented with accurate care following their earlier hospitalization.