Health Insurance for Diabetics

Health Insurance for Diabetics

A diabetic needs to have constant access to supplies such as test strips, meters, and insulin. The patient also requires regular medical check-ups. Paying out the cost of prescription drugs, doctor's visit, and the price of accessories is extremely difficult for millions of diabetic patients who do not have access to adequate insurance. According to a recent Gallup Poll* 26% of diabetics live below the poverty level and 9% are uninsured.

According to a recent U.S. Center for Disease Control report* there are now 27 million Americans living with diabetes. Pre diabetes is a whole other matter, the estimate is that 78 million additional Americans are afflicted with "pre diabetes."

There are three primary causes for this.
1. Increases in obesity
2. Diabetics are living longer
3. Lowering of the guidelines for diagnosis of diabetes (as per ADA)

It all starts with the children: 5% overweight in 1983 compared to 22% in 2011 and leads to the general population:

78 million Americans are overweight, 50 million are defined as obese while 4 million are considered morbidly obese.

Advice for losing weight:
1. Realize the difference in lifestyles as per food intake and physical activity between you and earlier generations.

2. Exercise (i.e. physical exertion) is helpful. In this generation, many (25% according to the CDC) have completely sedentary lifestyles with the advent of modern transportation, appliances and entertainment systems. Being completely sedentary should cease immediately.
3. Food intake has increased dramatically (15% for the average American according to the CDC compared to 2001) and continues to increase.
4. A decrease in food intake and increase in physical activity will decrease the size of your body on a permanent basis.

Diabetics are living longer, as confirmed by new research:
Researchers at the University of San Diego examined 2,300 San Diego County residents who were first diagnosed with a Type 1 diabetic condition between 1969 and 1974. As of December, 2010 approximately 26% of the study research group had died. This death rate is 8 times the rate of the general California population.

More recently, a similar group of 2,300 were studied from 1980 to 1985 and the death rate was only 5.1 times the general California population.

Other notable findings: Survival rates for White Americans is 55% greater than for African Americans. Death rates for diabetic women were 12 times greater than those women not diagnosed with diabetes. While men were more fortunate with only 4.5 greater than the general California population.

"The evidence is clear that there have been tremendous advances in treating the condition of diabetes patients," said Dr. Roger Simon, lead researcher at the University of San Diego Health Research Department, in a press conference.

 

In December 2011 at the American Diabetes Health Conference in Miami, Florida the definition of obtaining diabetic status became easier to obtain. This updated definition of diabetes lead to additional 10 million Americans diagnosed with pre diabetes, another 1 million to be termed at Type 1 diabetic, and another 3 million added to Type 2 diabetic category. Despite the easing of the definition of diabetic, there is a continuing and steady increase in the numbers of Americans suffering from diabetes. It is our firm belief that early diagnosis and treatment of diabetes is most effective recourse for those suffering from this condition.