My Diabetes Information Articles
Paying When Insurance Won't
10/02/07
Disease Basics
By Matt Nilsen
Recently an Arizona newspaper reported on a man who could not get a sufficient number of blood glucose tests strips from a government entity he counted on for health services. It served as a good reminder that we do not have to be bound by the policies of pensions, health insurers, or government benefit providers. Even if appeals to a government program or insurer fail, a person can choose to purchase more test strips.
This is an expensive proposition. Purchasing hundreds of dollars of testing strips, lancets, medications or other necessities is financially impossible for many Americans.
Tallying Up the Cost
According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Medical Guidelines for Clinical Practice for the Management of Diabetes Mellitus, people meeting their hemoglobin A1C goals (usually 6.5 percent or less), only need to monitor blood glucose once a day. However, a person using insulin may need three or more blood glucose tests every day. Diabetics who battle frequent hyperglycemia and cannot meet their A1C goals need to monitor their blood sugar six or more times per day.
Test strips cost almost $1 per strip, and price breaks for buying in bulk are meager. This simple analysis reveals that an allocation of 50 test strips per month is insufficient for many people with diabetes. A person with poorly controlled diabetes, that is only allowed 50 strips for three months, has to decide if he or she is willing to sacrifice $200-450 for diabetes monitoring.
We encourage you to use recommendations from the American Diabetes Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and your physician to make your case with the insurance company, organization or government program that assists you in financing your health care. They often respond to letters from patients and physicians.
$200 per month can pay for admissions to a swimming pool and a few rounds of golf, or some other activity that is likely to help you live better with diabetes.
Sources:
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists