One of the odd observances of the Christmas Skeptic is the effect of today's gift-giving Santa Claus on the development of greed amongst children. The observation is somewhat paradoxical considering greed is considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

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There has been much heat in the diabetes online community concerning the new Medicaid/Medicare restrictions on paying for blood glucose testing supplies for people with diabetes, including the belief that these limitations will quickly replace current private-insurance coverage policies. We're seeing some of those repercussions here as The Other Half has just been informed that instead of covering testing supplies ad libitum (as many as his doctor writes for, for whichever brand she writes for), they will only cover OneTouch or Accu-Chek strips, to a maximum of 51 strips per month for people with diabetes who do not require injectable insulin, and 204 strips per month for those who do require it. (READ MORE)

This past weekend has seen a lot of DOC heat over Type 2 Diabetic and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's analogizing signing up for medical insurance with a pre-existing condition to trying to insure a home after it has been completely burned to the ground, or a car that has been completely totaled. Our peers have been enraged at the idea that Governor Huckabee is discounting productive lives to the point that, if the analogy were allowed to be continued, we should be completely culled from society (read: euthanized) -- either at the point of diagnosis, or at the point at which we can no longer pay the cost of our medical upkeep ourselves.

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I really hate to say this, but I've got to start over again. Searching for a doctor, this is.
 

It started when I got my bill from Mayo for Dr. A's appointment. I nearly flipped when I saw the $400 tab. I seriously didn't think that out-of-network costs were that much. I was prepared to pay $100; maybe $200 max. It got worse when I got the bill for M1 and M2… another $400. This all came in the mail around the same time I got my notice for a follow up appointment with M1. I'm going to have to cancel.
 

I've learned two things recently that will hopefully help with this out-of-control billing. My employer has a health advocate, that, among other things, can help with fee negotiation. Add to that, out of network charges can be applied to my deductible. So, although I'll be in debt to Mayo indefinitely, hopefully the fees won't be so high.
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Yeah, I know. Duh, right?

I was just reading a post over at Diabetes Daily by Bernard Farrell. He was discussing the astronomical cost of test strips. It is ridiculous that they cost $1 a piece. On an average day, Olivia tests 8 - 10 times. When she's sick, it's even more frequent. That's $10 a day, just in test strips.

The insurance company's answer to this, usually, is "Well, test less frequently." Yeah, you know where you can shove that statement, bucko. Get lost.

But why aren't the insurance companies pushing back on this? Why are they content to let manufacturers charge so freakin' much for test strips? I don't understand it.

I've done this before, but I think it's time to break down what diabetes costs us every month.

-- Approximately $750 for health insurance. Per month. Yeah. Ouch.
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