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)

One of the more heated discussions going through the diabetes online community is whether or not type 1 diabetes should be renamed to avoid it being lumped in with the public perception of type 2 diabetes. "Don't blame me because my pancreas decided to crap out on me!" is the rallying call -- implying, rightly or wrongly, that type 2 diabetes is always caused by the person with diabetes, through a combination of poor diet choices and poor lifestyle choices. Many people with type 2 diabetes -- particularly the young, fit, and not-obese -- also take issue with that perception. 

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When I have checkups with my endo I typically don't have questions. Usually it's more or less an in-and-out-how-are-your-blood-sugars type appointment.

But things are chaning in the world of health insurance and I have tons of questions for my apointment next week. (Which is a follow up from barely two months ago when bloodwork showed that my thyroid had decided to take a vacation. We increased my thyroid meds; bloodwork this Wednesday; actual appointment next week.) I have received three letters in the last month or so from my insurance company telling me that the Novolog I use is now going to be a Tier 3 prescription (i.e, the highest co-pay) and that the number of test strips I can get will now be limited.

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Like most companies around the country, mine is in the middle of open enrollment. Which means that now is the time of year when we choose our benefits for the coming year.

Naturally, there are changes and cost increases. That's just the way it goes -- even in a good economy. I feel fortunate to work for a company that provides much of the premium costs for my health insurance. Just for premiums for me and the kids I'll pay around $350 per month. And I get that that's cheap considering other people's circumstances.

Anyway. One of the cool things is that our insurance pays preventive care at 100%. So annual physicals for me and the kids, my well woman exam, etc. don't require a co-pay. Which is pretty cool.

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Somewhere between work and sewing the overgown for my most recent renaissance-faire visit, I managed to miss Friday's Blog Action Day. It's not something I feel I must participate in, but it's an occasional source of inspiration -- especially when it's a topic that can be turned on its ear.

This year the topic was water -- in particular, access to clean drinking water. Washing water. Safe, parasite-free water. Something that is lacking in many parts of the world. (At least one episode of Bobby G, Adventure Capitalist showed the eponymous individual playing a major role in bringing safe drinking water to a Nicaraguan community.)

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On Sunday, my friend Manny retweeted the Facebook status of someone who supports GLBT National Coming Out Day, which was yesterday, October 11. Many of us here understand "coming out" of a different closet -- the one which stores our diabetes supplies -- and admitting our pancreatically-challenged status to the world. For some in our community, it has had profound effects relating to loss of a job, inability to get a new job, loss of health insurance, and (obviously) increased healthcare costs. Some people with diabetes have admitted that their decisions to marry, whom to marry, and/or when to marry have been directly affected by their partners'/spouses' insurance status.

Most of our gay and lesbian colleagues with diabetes do not have that option.

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