From aging out of your parents’ health plan to navigating life’s first big transitions, the future of diabetes care will shape an entire generation’s health.
You are 22 years old. You finished school last June. You are sharing a room in Queens and just landed your first full‑time job in Manhattan. After you finish your coffee each morning, you squeeze onto the 7 train, checking your phone to keep tabs on your continuous glucose monitor. You’re learning to manage blood sugars alongside deadlines, rent, and your endless commute. Sidenote: You’re also juggling prescriptions, insurance forms, and appointments — things your parents and pediatric team once managed for you (if you were lucky).
You are one of the more than 750,000 young adults (age 18-30) living with diabetes in the United States. It’s a stage full of firsts: first apartment, first job, first serious relationship. It is also your first exposure to the fragility of healthcare access. You know the benefits your new job offers will mean a high deductible. You have less than four years to figure out your next move before losing coverage under your parents’ plan at age 26.
In New York City, you might be close to world‑class hospitals, hundreds of pharmacies that carry advanced devices, and your doctor-prescribed insulin. However, cost is still a major roadblock: It’s not uncommon to stand at the pharmacy counter, knowing that the medications or supplies you need are within reach but may not be within your budget.
Now, let’s head south. You are starting adulthood in Holmes County, in the Mississippi Delta, a rural county two hours from the nearest endocrinologist. Being on Medicaid, you often rely on discounted, sometimes expired insulin to get by. It’s been over a year since you last saw an endocrinologist, and you cannot remember your last eye checkup. Your safety net is razor-thin, and the consequences can be devastating when it frays.
Closing the care gap
Young adults with diabetes face unique challenges that both pediatric and older adult patients often avoid. Children usually have parents advocating and coordinating care. Although not all enjoy this stability, many older adults have more stable insurance and established routines from years of experience. However, in your 20s, you’re trying to make ends meet, building a career if you can, juggling jobs if you must, while finding your place in the world — all while managing a condition that demands constant attention. Burnout is three times more common in this age group than in older adults.
The future of diabetes care for young adults depends on closing the gaps between pediatric and adult care, coverage, and affordability. The Diabetes Link (formerly College Diabetes Network) is the only national nonprofit focused exclusively on young adults with diabetes. We connect them to the resources, peer networks, and expert guidance they need to thrive during the often‑overlooked transition from pediatric to adult care. We help ensure that no young adult has to navigate diabetes alone, whether during college, at their first job, or in a small town far from specialist care.
The future these young adults deserve will not happen by chance; it will be built through deliberate investment in access and innovation, and by listening to the voices of those living this reality daily. Organizations like The Diabetes Link show what’s possible, but lasting change requires commitment from policymakers, payers, employers, and communities. When all young adults have the tools, resources, and community they need, they won’t just manage diabetes — they’ll thrive.
