| Diabetes and Health Insurance |
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| Insurance Updates | |||||||
| Written by InsuranceProviders.com | |||||||
| Sunday, 15 August 2010 11:17 | |||||||
 According to the American Diabetes Association there are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States living with diabetes. That number means that just under eight percent of the US population is suffering from the health effects of diabetes. The statistics go on and on -- diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death for Americans, it is also the leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of twenty. Beneath all the well known statistics about this disease, there is a hidden cost to diabetes. The financial impact.An alarming number of diabetics are going without health insurance. According to the American Diabetes Association, eleven percent of diabetic patients under the age of 65 are uninsured, most from low income backgrounds and urban neighborhoods. The primary reason these patients go uninsured is the high cost of insuring a patient with diabetes. Health Risks and Insurance Costs of Diabetes The reason diabetes is such an expensive disease is two-fold. On the one hand, diabetic patients require a large number of medical supplies. The cost of testing kits, snacks to control blood sugar, and medication and accessories (such as needles and other medical supplies) makes diabetes one of the most expensive diagnoses. The other reason is the effect that diabetes' various health risks have on a person's health insurance costs. The health risks that make it more difficult to obtain diabetic health insurance are: -Eye conditions (cataracts, glaucoma, macular edema) -Foot problems (nerve damage, ulcers) -Heart disease (vascular disease, hypertension, stroke) -Urinary tract infections -Kidney disease -Impotence Because these health risks related to diabetes are expensive to treat, especially for a diabetic patient who has more than one condition at a time, health insurance companies must charge a higher premium for health insurance coverage. This is why diabetic health insurance plans can be so cost prohibitive for many (as opposed to say car insurance where one's health status is not taken into consideration when underwriting the policy). In nearly all diabetic patients, diabetes is a lifelong condition. The health risks of diabetes listed above can strike even the healthiest of patients. A diabetic person following their diet and exercise plans as well as their medication therapy could still undergo a stroke or nerve damage in their feet. That's why diabetic patients are seen as high risk patients from the perspective of health insurance companies. A diagnosis of diabetes is not really a diagnosis of a single problem. Every diabetic patient has different symptoms and medical conditions related to the disease and there are different things to alleviate the negatives caused by diabetes (for example, losing weight or getting more exercise). The effect of diabetes on health insurance costs is pretty extreme, but understandably so. A diabetic patient is more expensive to treat than a patient who doesn't have diabetes. State-Specific Health Insurance Options for Diabetics Though health insurance premiums are rising across the board, health insurance for diabetics is naturally more expensive. Depending on the state a diabetic lives in, there may be multiple state assistance programs for that patient to choose from. In the state of Tennessee, for example, a program called CoverRx will provide certain diabetes medications at a cost that depends on a sliding scale. Patients are rated by their income, and pay anywhere from $5 up to $12 for a month's supply of certain drugs. Many states have a similar program. The drugs in question are: -Glucophage -Lantus -Novolin -NovoLog To find out if a specific state has a program like this one (or others like it), be sure to take a look at the breakdown put together by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Health Insurance Options for Low Income Diabetics Though there are many avenues a low income diabetic patient should pursue to get assistance in treating their disease, the four most readily available sources of low income diabetic assistance are: -High Risk Pools -Medicaid -Prescription Assistance -S-CHIP If your state allows High Risk Pools (thirty states currently do) you can get health insurance benefits comparable to private insurance even if you are considered "high risk" by other insurers. You will be paying slightly more than you'd be paying for private insurance, but if you are labelled "high risk" and are finding it hard to find affordable insurance, looking into your state's "High Risk Pool" makes sense. The source of your prescription assistance depends on the manufacturer of your diabetes medication. The American Diabetes Association provides a list of prescription assistance programs around the country, from manufacturers like 3M, Astra Zeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline. Find the company that makes your medication and contact them for information about prescription drug assistance. Health Insurance Options for Older Diabetics Diabetic people over the age of 65 often have the most trouble finding affordable health insurance because they are "high risk" in two categories, from age and from their diabetic diagnosis. If Medicare isn't enough, there are a few other avenues to pursue. -Prescription Assistance -TAA Tax Credit -Medigap The TAA Tax Credit is fairly new, and because of that it is not well understood. In 2002, Congress passed a law that authorized a federal income tax credit for health insurance costs to early retirees or people who recently lost their job. You can earn 65 percent credit for your health care costs Diabetics can even have the credit paid back to their health insurance costs simply by filing the proper form. Medigap is basically private insurance aimed at people over the age of 65. The purpose of Medigap plans is to literally "fill the gap" leftover from Medicare, covering some medical expenses that Medicare normally doesn't. The cost of Medigap is slightly less than the cost of a private single member health insurance plan. Other Programs for Help with Diabetes and Health Insurance There are other ways for diabetic patients to maintain an affordable and safe level of health insurance. Programs like COBRA allow workers to keep their employee health insurance coverage even after their job ends. A plan known as "conversion". This happens when a person's group coverage ends (due to leaving work, getting divorced from an insured person, or if your group plan dries up for any reason) you can use a "conversion" plan to buy the same health insurance policy from your former group insurer, thereby "converting" the coverage into a single member plan. Diabetes and health insurance troubles go hand in hand as the complications of diabetes are expensive to treat, and starting new health insurance plans often means waiting up to six months for treatment for any pre-existing condition like diabetes. Diabetic patients should look into programs like prescription drug assistance or private Medigap plans to make sure their health insurance coverage is adequate to handle the many needs of diabetic patients. MedicalMile.com Quote this article on your site To create link towards this article on your website, copy and paste the text below in your page. Preview :
Diabetes and Health Insurance Sunday, 15 August 2010 According to the American Diabetes Association there are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States living with diabetes. That number... Powered by QuoteThis © 2008
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