So, since being diagnosed I have been covered under my mother's insurance plan. I have been able to walk into a pharmacy ask for vials of insulin and strips and without any issues walked out with what I asked for only having to pay for the dispensing fee of around $10.00 each time. It wasn't until today that I walked into the Walmart pharmacy, asked for the insulin and strips and was told that I was no longer covered. To my surprise, I was looking back at the clerk thinking, what do I do then? she looked back at me waiting for me to make up my mind on whether or not I was going to pay for the insulin or walk away with nothing.
My first thought, "oh my god, how can I pay for this every month?" my second thought, " I swear I was covered by my mom..." third thought, "why do I have diabetes? this isn't fair?" fourth thought, "I am so getting a treat for all of this frustration." I walked away without the insulin and gave my mom a call asking what I should do. Thankfully she assured me that once I proved I was in school to her insurance company that all would be good. I went back to the counter and coughed up the hundred-and-something-dollar bill that it cost me to save my life for the month.
Honestly, it was incredibly stressful and I couldn't help but get mad that I have to pay so much to stay alive. Why are diabetics having to pay so much for insulin? Why are we having to worry about these kinds of things? I began to think more about the desperate cries on Facebook chat groups of people searching for insulin, hoping their cheques come in so they can pay for their insulin... I felt incredibly mad.
Thankfully, I will be covered until I am 26 (and still in school) by my mom's plan and then it is time to look for a job or friend (a.k.a husband) with benefits! It really makes you think how fragile the life of a diabetic can be. How scary of a thought it is to be without insulin. A thought many of us do not want to even think about.
Kayla
Yeah. My husband didn't have insurance for 5 years, so he never went to the doctor within those 5 years, used over the counter insulin and suringes, tested when he could afford it, otherwise just guessed on his insulin, and let any infections that he had go past what they should. He just got insurance in April and once we got married I made sure that he used it as much as he needed. I am amazed at what all of this would cost if he didn't have insurance, and see why people don't take care of themselves without it.
ReplyDeleteFor the record.... you can buy vials of insulin over the counter and they are $35. If you buy it through a "prescription" you pay as much as you did.
ReplyDeleteI went 1.5years without benefits and it nearly bankrupted me.
Yeah. Hubby was using Humulin N & R from Walmart at $25 a bottle. At places like Walgreens and CVS they run around $75. Walmart's reli-on test strips/meter were the cheapest. Unfortunately he really needed to Lantus and Humalog - both run more than $100 a piece.
DeleteWhen I got married in 1981, I had to go 6 months without health insurance. So my husband, had to pay for all my supplies. I wasn't using a meter at the time, but ketodiastix.
ReplyDeleteWhat I dislike about how some of the insurance companies in the US do things is they require you do order your supplies in three month supplies and have them shipped mail order. I prefer to go to the pharmacy when I need my supplies. Since I'm on a sliding insulin scale (I use humulin N & R and the syringe) I don't always use a bottle a month. I'm very lucky in that I have an entirely different place where I get my meter supplies.