# My insurance company wants me to get diabetes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 9, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314 "2010-02-09T19:20:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314/21 "2010-02-11T14:28:38Z")

</div>

I have diabetes and I don’t have insurance. Count your blessings.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314/22 "2010-02-11T21:11:28Z")

</div>

I would look into alternatives to new, custom orthotics. Does it have to be custom fitted to your foot? Will a generic drugstore insert work? A removable foot boot/cast cost me $150 at the podiatrist’s, but I could have picked one up for a fraction of that at the drugstore or free on freecycle. My PCP just “gave” me a velcro strap to wrap around my arm for tendinitis, and I got a bill for $75 for the strap alone. Research the device he recommended and see what you can come up with. Have you tried a gel insert?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314/23 "2010-02-12T11:46:28Z")

</div>

> [@Eonwe](#):
>
> I just tried to have this discussion with someone else on the board just a week or so ago.
> 
> The issue is not “insurance should pay for whatever I want it to.” The issue is “seemingly arbitrary things that aren’t covered, while alternative treatments that most definitely _cost the insurance company more_ are covered.”
> 
> Why will they pay for surgery, but not for orthotics? On the face of it it’s ridiculous both from a patient care perspective and a cost-savings perspective.

This is what I can’t figure out. Surely they don’t sit around and think that if someone needs a problem fixed, paying for only the more expensive option is a GOOD thing?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314/24 "2010-02-12T14:47:37Z")

</div>

Some years ago I was looking for weight loss options and found out that my health insurance company would cover bariatric surgery but not appetite suppressant medication,which was much cheaper.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-insurance-company-wants-me-to-get-diabetes/528314.md?page=1)