Howdy everyone!!!
First, thanks Angela for the bit about sleep before midnight. It had been a few years since I last heard that. Makes it all crystal clear now, and I feel good about waking up the roosters:)
Second, training is going good. The lantus drop has been good. 5 units in the am, 7 units pm, and Blood sugars have been perfect. Saw the eye, and endo docs yesterday. All results were perfect. I had a better A1C than my endo, Bruce Bode...ha Sitting at 5.5 now with only 2% below target in 28 days. Best #'s ever. Ride on Sunday was amazing. Doing exercises every morning, yoga 3x a week, and massage and the difference is noticeable. I am very excited, and very motivated!!! Bigger week this week, with a few small tests. My guess is that by Saturday, total Lantus dose will be less than 10 units/day.
Ok, so now for the rant. I have been going to the pharmacy once a month for my entire life to get supplies. Every month I get the same thing: Apidra, Lantus, Freestyle Strips, Syringes, and Pen Needles. I get the same quantity every time, yet for some reason each and every time I go in the pharmacy, I never leave in less than 30 minutes. It has always been like this. I am not going to name bash, but they all seem to be about the same. Yesterday I went in to get the same 5 items as always, that I called in and requested, and then verified via phone before going in, and then I get my order minus 2 big boxes. No Syringes. I ask the guy, and he said insurance isn't covering them.
"Excuse me" I say.
"Well, your insurance isn't going to pay." he says
"I still need the needles" Wondering here why he didn't tell me this was the reason I had no needles instead of just not giving them to me.
"You have to pay cash"
"Ok, I want to keep my eye-sight, I will take the needles..."
So I pay my $30/box for needles, but decided to prolong the trip by calling my insurance company, United Health Care, who initially denied the coverage. The ironic thing is on the on-going message while I was on hold, the first thing it said was "Properly managed diabetes can significantly reduce the risk of complications, such as blindness." I found it quite funny that they are telling me to properly manage my disease, but refuse to pay for syringes that I need to give injections to ensure I do not have complications.
The lady on customer service was very nice, and ended up taking care of it, so I waited another 20 minutes while the "script" was filled, and then got my boxes for $15 a pop. All in all, just getting the diabetes supplies was $250, and this is the same cost every month.
I hope President Obama does act on his plans to help people get the tools. I have faith that he will. What if it was an underprivileged family, who could not swing $60 for needles, or didn't have a cell phone to call the insurance company, or even worse, did not have insurance to pay for the supplies???
I know exactly what would happen:
The person would be forced to check less, due to cost, not desire. He/she would be forced to do fewer injections, use inferior insulin, and/or use dirty needles, which could cause infection. This person probably sees an endo 2x/year at best, and has an A1C over 10, purely because of $$.
Diabetes, as you know, is a disease where management is everything. We have to take care of it, and having the best treatment (insulin) and technology will enable us to avoid complications.
Not having the tools is not an option, and if any reader out there has a contact in the House, Senate, or Oval Office, I would truly appreciate an introduction to try and make change.
I propose a $26 Billion Dollar "Supply Campaign" where we provide supplies to people with diabetes around the world, provide the best cancer treatment to those in need, and help people who cannot afford to help themselves. Maybe we start here, and see the impact it has, and then move outwards.
Together we can do it.
Thanks for listening to my RANT.
Have a great day.
Phil
5 comments:
Great plan Phil! It's good that you are sharing this and provoking thought. Maybe you should be a lobbyist in the off season. I think you could do amazing things.
Very well said Phil. I've often said that we're one of the lucky ones in that we can afford to manage our daughter's Diabetes.
That and the markup that the pharmaceutical companies must be making on supplies. We paid $120 cdn for a box of 50 Opsites that we use to ensure her infusion set stays in place and our insurance doesn't cover this. How much does it cost them to make these Opsites? Much less than $2.40 each I would guess!
Sounds like a great idea, coming from a fellow diabetic. My only question is where we get the 26 billion? I know taxes are not the answer. And I hate it that we have to elect a President that pushes to kill babies and create a socialistic country to get hope of these things. My A1C is 5.8 without a CGM and truly belive that control is absolutly everything for a diabetic. I just think we can get pretty swayed on what's really inportant. Just my RANT. Have great day.
You know...You could get those syringes for less than your $15 co-pay....Wouldn't have had to talk to your mindless insurance company either!
This is the real world at least in the US. Did you know in Australia they have a National Diabetic Scheme where if you are registerd in this scheme you pay $5 for a box of syringes and about the same for boxes of test strips. Taxes could be the answer and people in this country definitely get it pretty easy with how much tax they pay.
Fortunately I have insurance that allows for 3 month supplies of mail order prescriptions that definitely lowers prescription costs but as Phil has said what about those that do not have the priviledge of good insurance.
The reality of life as a diabetic is you are channelled into a life of only being able to take jobs with big corporate insurance programs so you can afford to live and be healthy. Oh for the opportunity to actually be able to open your own business or do a job that you enjoy :(
Well that is my rant but lets work on finding a cure for this incidious disease rather than just more medicines. Obama is the best hope this country has had for changes like this in a long time.
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