Insurance

[jtaund]

Hey guys....my birthday is on the 10th of this month and I will be 21. So next year I will be 22 and I'm still in college and of course I'm diabetic. My parents insurance over cover me until I'm 22. What's a good insurance for diabetics and how much will it cost because I can't go not being uninsured. I can barely keep up with what my insulin and strips cost now WITH insurance.

[jtaund]

Thanks you! This information is so helpful! I will definitely be looking in to these things. Right now I'm trying to find out if my insurance will pay for me to get an Omnipod. Hopefully it will cover it.

[medhelp77]

Below is some info I have posted on here in the past about how to manage without insurance (free strips and free insulin).  I'm a Type 1 without insurance too.  Since diabetes is a pre-existing condition, insurance is very expensive.  If anyone on here knows of any good prices on insurance for diabetics, please share--it would be greatly appreciated!


Some great resources for locating free and low cost clinics are the two links I have listed below.  These clinics usually require proof of income to be eligible for services (which can include doctor's visits and even lab work).  I’m a Type I who doesn’t have any insurance either and these types of clinics have worked for me—I have received very low cost doctor’s visits and lab work.

https://www.pparx.org/FreeClinicFinder.php

http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/

Both of these links, once you enter your information, will tell you the nearest free and low cost clinics; there usually are several clinics to choose from.

The website www.needymeds.com is a great resource for downloading forms to get free or low cost medications.  There are many different companies that provide free insulin and many other types of medications (click on the Brand or Generic name drugs link, then click the first letter of the type of medication you use and it should show up on the list), and there is one company (Abbott—the makers of FreeStyle and Precision Xtra test strips) that will provide a monthly supply of free test strips and lancets (all FreeStyle or Precision Xtra brand, and they also give you one of their FreeStyle or Precision Xtra meters), but you must apply to their patient assistance program as well as Medicaid and provide Abbott with a Medicaid rejection letter.  Here’s the direct link to the Abbott program:

http://www.needymeds.org/company_list.taf?_function=name&program_id=1047

(If anyone knows of any other companies that have free test strip programs, please let everyone else here know—it would be *greatly* appreciated.)

You will need to have your doctor fill out the forms and provide you with a prescription, and you will also need to provide proof of income.  Receiving medications from pharmaceutical companies such as these can sometimes take at least two weeks.  Also remember that doctors and hospitals often provide samples, as well as the health department.  

I've heard about hospital charity programs that can help with various things as well but don't have any personal experience dealing with them.  You would need to call a hospital's business office or financial aid office and ask about charity care programs.

Thought I would add a link that lists organizations that claim to provide insulin pump supplies free of charge if a person provides financial proof that they are eligible.  I don’t have experience in obtaining free insulin pump supplies from any organization, so you may want to email these organizations.  The link is:

http://www.isletsofhope.com/diabetes/assistance-programs/free-insulin-pump-supplies-1.html

The organizations listed at this link that appear to be the most helpful are:

http://www.charlesray.g12.com/  
The Charles Ray III Diabetes Association (their email address is ***@****).  One drawback though is their $15 application fee.  You may want to email them and explain your situation, and maybe they could tell you whether you would be eligible for their program without having to pay an application fee.

http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/  
(their email address is [email protected]); I wasn’t able to find any specific information on the website about financial assistance for pump supplies, but the link said they “offer financial assistance through their Insulin Pumpers Foundation program.”  You may want to email them and explain your situation, and maybe they can direct you to the appropriate help.

http://www.ipump.org/    
(their email address is program-***@****)

http://www.isletsofhope.com/diabetes/assistance-programs/free-insulin-pump-supplies-1.html also lists and describes several other links that may be helpful.  

Medhelp apparently does not let anyone post emails, but the emails for the websites can be found on the websites.  If you need help finding them, just send me an email and I will email them to you.

Hope this helps & God Bless You!