In anticipation of the expansion of health insurance that will start in 2014 under the federal health care law, the Commonwealth Fund has begun tracking coverage of low-income Americans. The first of the surveys reconfirms what’s already well-known: the poor are starting from a pretty bad place in terms of coverage.

Americans may be as heavy as they’re going to get — at least for now.

A young person with diabetes could earn an average of $160,000 less over their lifetime compared to someone without the disease, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Health Affairs.