On My Mind…

 

We recently applied for diabetes medical insurance.  

Our previous policy was finished and it was time for renewal. We had so many options. Most had the same, or very similar coverage.

We know that diabetes medical insurance is more costly than many other health cover policies, so we expected a higher premium for my Type 1 son.

Nevertheless, it was shocking to see the premium outliers at the high end – like so high the other high premiums that had made me gasp looked more realistic.

It made me wonder if those outliers even wanted have a meaningful discussion about diabetes, or was this to just discourage us?

 

 

One Giant Flaw in Diabetes Medical Insurance

 

The thing that left me most thoughtful was that not a single diabetes medical insurance policy covered a single test strip.

If you are thinking about devices like flash monitoring or CGMs – those are not covered either.

One agent was optimistic and told us maybe one strip per day!

This is heartbreaking.

 

 

Regular Testing is Key to Managing Diabetes

 

How can we expect people to take care of their diabetes and keep their complications low (and costs to insurance companies low) if they are not covered for any testing? 

If the patient is not to engage in their care, if testing is not supported, then how is a doctor even going to know outside of an A1C test what is going on with their patients?

How will they know how to make changes in medication?

How will a patient know what their fasting A1C is?

I know there is some controversy around people with Type 2, or pre-diabetes checking too much, but no strips at all?

 

 

Health Care or Disease Care?

 

Why would you rather pay for retinopathy, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, and the list of other complications that can occur from diabetes, than cover test strips?

Please tell me if these health issues cost considerably less than test strips and I’ll gladly step off my soap box. All the medical information that I have listened to and read over the years points to testing as the most effective means of living a healthy life with diabetes.

If you work in a health insurance company, and you are receiving this and have read this far, this is an open invitation to discuss how we can make this better.

I want to believe that you understand why this is problematic for care ­– and your costs.

I want to believe that we all want to do better.

I want to believe that we all want to empower people with diabetes.

Please tell me that I am not wrong … 

 

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