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About half of all Americans have either diabetes or pre-diabetes, according to a new report. And experts in the field say that's good news. That's because the study finds that after two decades of linear growth, the prevalence of diabetes in the United States has finally started to plateau. In a paper published Tuesday in JAMA, the authors write that their findings are consistent with other studies that show the percentage of people with diagnosed diabetes remained steady from 2008 to 2012. (Netburn, 9/8)

Take a walk: That's the U.S. surgeon general's prescription for sedentary Americans — but communities will have to step up, too, and make neighborhoods easier and safer for foot traffic. Only half of adults and just over a quarter of high school students get the amount of physical activity recommended for good health, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in a "call to action" being issued Wednesday. (Neergaard, 9/9)

Federal regulators announced a new plan Tuesday to make health care for minority and poor senior citizens more equitable, a challenge that persists 30 years after the Department of Health and Human Services issued a powerful report on the problem. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its first plan to address health equity in the mammoth Medicare program. The "equity plan" focuses on six priority areas, including increasing the ability of health care workers to meet the needs of vulnerable populations. (O'Donnell, 9/8)