Can’t you get a COBRA for 18 months? I realize they are VERY expensive, like $2000/month for some, but they can’t cut off your coverage if you start your COBRA immediately upon losing your job. The COBRA counts as creditable coverage if you have a period of unemployment and then start another job with insurance before the COBRA runs out. For a diabetic, the COBRA might be cheaper than paying out of pocket for diabetes care, with the added benefit of keeping you covered so you can’t be denied coverage at your next job.
Don’t people with type I diabetes generally live long healthy lives as long as they have access to insulin and monitor their sugar intake? Provided there are no other huge risk factors (overweight, smoking, etc)?
I honestly thought it was three months. My mistake.
Oh yes…let’s let her have a grand mal seizure while operating the fry maker.
My, what an insufferable pinhead you are!
Ah, this explains so much.
I have lupus and, last time I made the foray into individual coverage, I could not find anyone to cover me, at any cost. I’m 36 and my lupus has been in remission (i.e., no meds) since I was 19. When I was pregnant, they did a few extra blood tests, noted that I had lupus, and I had to take one baby aspirin per day throughout my pregnancy. I also had to have a fetal echocardiogram (basically, an ultrasound done by someone trained to detect heart defects in a fetus) during each pregnancy. If I hadn’t had that extra care during pregnancy, I would have qualified for the insurance because my illness would not have been noted in my medical record for over 10 years.
Meanwhile, we get insurance through my husband’s job (which is, incidentally, in health care). We pay over $800 per month for our family to have a high deductible plan (my husband is 100% covered, so our premium is just for me and our two boys). We have a $5000 deductible and pay everything up to that point - no copays or anything like that. We do not have dental or eye coverage. We have no choice but to pay it, because we can’t get an individual policy because of my health record.
We lived for several years in Australia, which has single payer health coverage. It was a dream. I had a baby there and my baby turned out to have some respiratory issues, which required three hospitalizations. While my child was lying in a hospital bed, with oxygen tubes and monitors beeping, I didn’t have one worry about how we were going to pay for it. If that happened here, I would be a nervous wreck about him and our finances.
Damn! I read through the replies, shocked that I was the only person to think of the joke! Foiled again!
(And NinetyWt)
I don’t think it can be the only explanation. They used the same technique on Kyle XY and he didn’t turn out to be an asshole.
*That was a documentary, right?
Hey, I thought of something I need. Sometimes when I order the chicken salad at Wendy’s, the slicer doesn’t go all the way through the chicken, so it’s just sort of perforated instead of actually sliced. I’d really rather it be sliced all the way through. If you could fix that, that would be great.
Why should I care if your taxes go up? I don’t make enough to be affected by the tax increase. Why should I care if the government takes 60% of your income? Why is that my problem??
Presumably for the same reason you want Crafter_Man to give a damn if you have health insurance.
Regards,
Shodan
Exactly. He has convinced me we shouldn’t give a damn about what other people think. From now on, it will be tyranny by the majority; agreed?
I worked for a company that, for one year, wouldn’t insure a co-worker of mine who was diabetic and a double transplant survivor who required anti-rejection meds. Her parents had to help her, and it was extremely difficult for them.
A lot of your cost would depend on what insulin(s) you were on. My husband was type II (though also not obese. Type II runs in his family) and his insulins varied from about $20/month to about $500/month. I still have hundreds of dollars worth in the fridge because I hate to throw them out but am not allowed to give them away.
jsgoddess, you might want to check the expiration dates on those. If I remember correctly, insulin expires after… 6 months? A year? Definitely no longer than a year, even if refrigerated. Knowing that they’re expired might help you to be able to finally chuck them.
Then again, my grandfather never did get rid of my grandma’s blood sugar meter.
You can donate the vials to a pharmacy, county hospital or nonprofit clinic, which can then give them away for you. See here.
Yes, they do, provided they are diligent in regulating their blood glucose level on a regular basis. If they frequently let it get out of hand, the excess glucose will take its toll on the vessels and organ systems, which can cause an array of health problems, which can reduce life expectancy. To what extent depends on the severity.
Good luck with the gay marriage thing, then.
Regards,
Shodan
Even well-controlled type 1 diabetics are at higher risk of complications from the disease, just because it’s impossible to stay in perfect (i.e., non-diabetic) blood sugar control all the time, without being in danger of having severe hypoglycemic episodes. And by severe, I don’t mean, “I feel vaguely punk,” I mean, “I went to sleep and didn’t wake up.” Tight control is a lot easier these days than it used to be, and diabetics can look forward to a long and healthy life if they do maintain strict control, but there’s still elevated risk of complications, pretty much no matter what.
And insulin, insulin supplies, blood sugar test strips and meters, and regular visits to the endocrinologist can get spendy all on their own.