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Already behind in your medical
bills?
Ask your
doctor for a payment plan. I have yet to
meet a doctor or hospital who was unwilling to work with a patient if the patient was respectful of their
obligation to pay and did not simply ignore medical bills.
A doctor’s
billing office cannot tell a deadbeat from a cash-poor patient unless you talk
with them. Ignoring bills is the worst
thing you can do – bills don’t magically go away – and you will be less able to
work out a payment plan later on if you need to. Even hospitals are usually willing to reduce the
total amount due if you make a payment plan and stick to it.
Your doctor
should not have to foot the bill for your diabetes care anymore than you should
have to pay for mine. Use your doctor as
your health advocate, not as a personal loan officer and s/he may be more
willing to help you find assistance and give you an affordable payment plan. If you take
responsibility for your obligations you are far less likely to end up being
reported to a credit agency.
Remember, while
doctors and hospitals often show compassion, once a bill is turned over to a
collection agency you are at the mercy of people without mercy!
Health Insurance
Unfortunately,
an uninsured person with diabetes has only three options if they lack insurance
and want coverage:
1. Go through a state major medical risk
insurance pool program (if your state has one);
2. Hope to qualify for Medicare or Medicaid; or
3. Buy insurance that excludes pre-existing
conditions. In this case, you will at
least have coverage if you fall off a ladder or some other health problem
arises. Having some insurance is always better than having none.
In our
April 2007 newsletter we will address, in detail, various health insurance
options and how to get your insurance company to honor an existing policy if
they are not covering your diabetes supplies – and should.
Happy Saint Pattie's Day
Finally! A holiday that does not center around eating (but watch out, Easter still looms).
But St. Patrick's day is often an excuse for some to indulge in green, alcoholic beverages and persons with diabetes should always limit or avoid alcohol.
A word of warning to those on antidiabetes medications for type 2 -- many of these medications can have serious side effects when consuming alcohol. Even in moderation, for example, alcohol can cause liver damage for those on glucophage (metformin). And glucophage also has been shown to lower drinking tolerance and so it takes less alcohol to get you drunk.
Want to donate your old insulin pump? 
If you don't need assistance consider helping those who do. IPump.org, Inc. is just one of several nonprofit organizations that takes donations of diabetes supplies and insulin pumps and gives these supplies out to people in need -- for free.
If you have items you can donate contact the Program Director at IPump.org or visit their website.
Email: program-director@ipump.org
Web: IPump.org
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Hunter, age 2, has T1D.
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... "I remember my husband and me looking at each other trying to figure out what we had done wrong. I just knew it was the candy I gave him during church to try to keep him quiet on Sunday mornings. But, as the doctor explained when he came back in the room, Hunter had Type 1 diabetes, which is not preventable. There was nothing we could’ve done differently." Hunter's webpage
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What to do when your diabetes medical bills sting more than your shots
by Lahle Wolfe, Founder of Islets of Hope
Diabetes is not a disease you can treat only when you feel like it. That is, if you don’t treat it, you can die. Unlike with some medications where you can skip a dose if you don't take your insulin you are guaranteed bad results.
So what do people do when they cannot afford diabetes care? Many families are faced with having to give up the basics in life (including food, rent, and other essential items) in order to pay for insulin and diabetes supplies. Almost daily, I receive e-mails and assistance applications from people with the horrific stories about what happens when they cannot even afford insulin.
Despite major advances in medical treatments for diabetes, over the past 14 years the number of children who die each year from diabetes has not declined one bit. But children with diabetes do not die from long-term diabetes complications, they die from hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia related problems that are very often avoidable with the right medical care.
One of the reasons for this continued death rate among children with diabetes is that parents often lack the resources to obtain proper medical care or to purchase insulin and supplies. Simply put, many children with diabetes often die unnecessarily for a lack of money and diabetes education.
Patients
with diabetes, even those who have insurance, can have trouble affording the
cost of proper diabetes care. Skipping doctor visits, skimping on blood glucose
testing or insulin doses is not only foolish from a medical standpoint, but it
will not save you money.
The financial
and emotional costs associated with complications of diabetes that can occur
from poor control are far greater than any penny you think you might save from
cutting health care corners now. Simply
put: don’t do it.
If you have
a child with diabetes, even worse than the risk of long-term adult
complications, you are literally be putting your child’s life on the line if
you don’t test blood glucose regularly and give the right amount of insulin.
If you are
unable to afford the right care and supplies there are places you can and should turn to for help. Put aside the pride, pick up the phone and
ask for help. Your feet, eyes, and
kidneys are counting on you, and so are your children.
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In the United States there are approximately 50 million people without health insurance. And nearly two-thirds of all patients with diabetes cannot afford the cost of their medical care. As a result many end up with even more expensive, life-long complications that could have easily been prevented if government "assistance" programs had helped early on.
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"Diabetes is
bad news to any family. For those who
don’t have insurance, who are underinsured, or are not independently wealthy,
diabetes can financially destroy a family within a year. I know this from
personal experience not just alarming from statistics.
I founded both Islets of Hope and IPump.org,
Inc. in part because I wanted to turn my own bad financial experiences into something
positive for other people.
Most of the people who come to us for help have already been turned down by government programs that only look at income and not the catastrophic effect medicals bills can have on a family."
Lahle A. Wolfe, CEO, IPump.org, Inc.
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Where to start looking for assistance
The first
place to look for help is from your doctor. While medical professionals rarely offer assistance programs themselves, they often know of local resources or current programs offered by drug and supply companies. Doctors also receive samples of medications and devices and generously share these with patients who simply ask. Doctors may have a rapport with a drug representative or an insulin pump supply company and have some inside knowledge as to how to best get help or an actual contact name and not just a web link or phone number.
The second place to call is your local hospital. Ask for the diabetes social worker. Hospitals are typically the first stop for newly diagnosed patients and are able to offer free glucose meters or other supplies. They usually offer or know where to find free diabetes education resources and support groups. If you have a need for medical or financial assistance hospitals can recommend programs in your area.
What about government assistance programs?
Unless you
are basically destitute already, don’t count on the government for much
assistance. But if you think you may be
able to qualify for a state or federal program apply as soon as possible and
expect it to take time. Do NOT wait
until the last minute. If government
assistance is your Plan A always have a Plan B in the works.
Government
programs are limited not only in terms of how much assistance you might qualify
for, but also for how long. And don’t
count on sympathy. It may sound cold,
but for every hardship there is always someone worse off than you are. Government workers are usually unable to make
“discretionary” calls even if they long to, and must stick to hard and fast
income guidelines – guidelines that if you don’t fall within there is not much
you can do but appeal (and probably wait months to find you are still not approved).
Unlike many
other industries, the medical world is full of amazing and wonderful nonprofit
organizations and even for-profit businesses that really go all out to help
others in need. Drug companies are often
accused of being greedy and price gouging us and perhaps some do. But they also generously give back to
patients in need funding foundations for financial assistance, free or
reduced-cost medications and diabetes supplies.
Insulin pump companies are notoriously known for their generosity in
supporting nonprofits that help people on pumps.
As tempting
as it is to complain about your doctor’s fee remember s/he probably participates
in health insurance programs where fees are dramatically reduced or
predetermined and they are already giving up their own market-rate income to
treat patients with insurance. Doctors
also often volunteer their time to local clinics, nonprofit boards, and
community programs.
The real
“bad” guy here is not who is treating you and the fact that you are charged for
that service, it is diabetes (and in my opinion, insurance companies can be
pretty evil, too).
Show me the money
Rather than leave you with a meaningless article
emphasizing what you already know – that you have some hard work ahead of you
in order to find the right assistance, I refer you to our
assistance program resource links to help you with find assistance with
diabetes supplies and medications, even in obtaining an insulin pump.
To find these resources visit the "Assistance
Programs" section of our website for a comprehensive list of
government and private resources for person with diabetes in the U.S.and Canada, or follow any of the links
below:
Tips on How to Find Diabetes Assistance Programs
Charitable and Private Diabetes Assistance Resources
Diabetes Cost-Saving Resources
Government Assistance and Diabetes Resources
Student Diabetes Resources
Other Diabetes Resources
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