The average African American born today has a 50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes in his or her lifetime and is twice as likely as whites to be hospitalized from it and 2.3 times as likely to die from it.    Presently, 11.4% of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes. (At least one-third of them don't know it). 

On October 8th, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act. On Christmas Eve. the Senate's The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed 60-39 -despite the attempted Republican filibuster. With the two chambers of congress having each passed their own versions of a healthcare reform bill, all that's left is for President Obama to lend his signature to the measure, turning the healthcare bill into legislation.    

Before that happens, House and Senate must negotiate to reconcile the two bills into one.