Click for the We, The Undersigned – Tuesday 5/14 Link List
Recently various petitions have been circulating the Diabetes Online Community, so todaylet’s pretend to write our own. Tell us who you would write the petition to – a person, an organization, even an object (animate or inanimate) – get creative!! What are you trying to change and what have you experienced that makes you want this change? (Thanks to Briley of inDpendence for this topic suggestion.)
We, the Undersigned, would like for health insurance companies to cover reasonable amounts of the necessary diabetes supplies required to sustain our lives. Even though you don’t understand why we must go through 6 test strips to test blood glucose levels some days and more than 12 the next day, neither do we. It is called the fickle nature of diabetes. And while we are at it, please cover the continuous glucose monitoring sensors without charging exorbitant out of pocket fees to receive these supplies. Some of us are on fixed incomes, and cannot afford to pay $3,000+ per box of glucose sensors each month. These are not just luxury items, either. Sure, it is pretty cool technology and all to be able to have a device measure the general relative glucose level and show you trends, but that doesn’t eliminate blood sugar testing, and the whole reason that most of us who use these nifty continuous glucose monitoring devices in the first place? Oh yeah, it is because we can no longer sense whether our blood glucose levels are within safe ranges. I myself, while going through approval verification, did not feel a low blood glucose level until my meter literally registered “LO” and trust me, that’s not pretty! It is much safer, and much better if you pay for and approve these devices, because preventing just one emergency use of glucagon and the related emergency room and hospital costs associated will be much higher. Is that what you really want? Really? If you really want to keep us as healthy as possible, and keep us from having as little long term damage as possible, paying for technology like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring devices will prevent hypoglycemic episodes, retinopathy, amputation, neuropathy, nephropathy, and more. You may have to pay more now, but you will save money in the long term when you don’t have to pay for dialysis later. Or, worse, when the kidney damage is so bad that we need to be listed for a kidney transplant. It happens. So please, look at the long term costs, not just the money that you are paying right now. Look at the long term health costs and the long term health benefits that we will gain from this technology. Sure, you may pay more right now, but look at how much you will save when you have healthier, more productive members of society in five, ten, or even fifteen years down the line.
Sincerely,
Aliza, a person with diabetes, type, quite complicated
Warmly,
Aliza Chana, CHHC, AADP