Click here for the The Cost of a Chronic Illness – Tuesday 5/16 Link List
Insulin and other diabetes medications and supplies can be costly. Here in the US, insurance status and age (as in Medicare eligibility) can impact both the cost and coverage. So today, let’s discuss how cost impacts our diabetes care. Do you have advice to share? For those outside the US, is cost a concern? Are there other factors such as accessibility or education that cause barriers to your diabetes care? (This topic was inspired by suggestions from Rick and Jen.)
I’m getting ready to transition to Medicare – and that scares the sh*t out of me.
Back to Medicare – I’m petrified. We’ve scheduled an appointment with a local woman (she sounds really young but was well recommended by a local insurance agent) to analyze and look at what we can do as far as plans – advantage, supplement, prescription. She said, “You’ll need to have a list of any prescriptions you use.” Poor girl – she’s going to be awed. (Or she might just run away from us!)
I NEVER thought I’d be working at my age. We both worked hard to make it possible to retire and enjoy our retirement. Diabetes brought that to a screeching halt. For new d-friends, I was dx’d at age 55. I’ve said I’d give up my pump before my Dexcom if given a choice. I know they’re approved now but – it looks like there will be some bumps before it, Dexcom, is totally available.
And… it truly and honestly bothers me immensely that there are people who are not able to afford the d-medications that they need to stay alive. Give me a break. NO ONE should be denied medications needed to STAY alive.
PS – I truly LOVE comments and I know everyone else does, too. But… I’m going to do comment catching up after D-Blog week. If I do comments now they’ll all say, “Nice!” or “Thank you for posting this.” I’m really looking forward to meeting new bloggers and catching up with some of “been around for some time” bloggers.