I know the title of my blog seems dramatic, but I'm serious! Insurance companies would be better off without type 1 diabetics. That's why, until health reform forced them to, they categorically did not accept type 1 diabetics under individual plans.
My quality of life is very much determined by the quality of my insurance coverage. As a preview, I'll give some highlights and lowlights of my healthcare through the years:
Highlight: Through two part-time jobs, I was double-covered under Kaiser Permanente in California. This was how I was able to get my current pump (Medtronic Paradigm 722) without paying a $1400 copay. I did have to literally camp out in my doctor's office all day to get him to write the scrip.
Lowlight: County coverage in San Benito County, California. I could see my doctor for 15 minutes every 3 months. He would write prescriptions that read: "Test strips, insulin." Way to be specific, guy!
Highlight: Masshealth. Covered at 100%, all my supplies were shipped to me like clockwork from Neighborhood Diabetes Shoppe (shoutout! Love you guys). Insulin had a $3 copay.
Lowlight: Because of health reform in Massachusetts, I was kicked off Masshealth and forced to take the Brandies University plan, which capped Rx benefits at $2,000 annually, and considered all of my pump supplies as falling under prescription benefits. I calculated that this would cover me for 2.7 months. Lucky for me I had hoarded my supplies while under MassHealth.
TBD: My current plan, CareFirst (a BlueCross BlueShield company) is being pretty silly about a recent emergency room visit, trying to claim that it was outpatient care. As if I just waltzed into the ER and sat down on a bed and said, "hey guys, why don't you hook me up to an IV and let me sleep here for a few hours?" I came in by ambulance, unconscious, and required life-saving care! Come on, CareFirst, do the right thing! Approve my appeal.
More to come...
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