Hello All,
My son was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and we are getting slammed with doctor bills that our insurance is not covering..... Does anyone know of any supplemental insurance that a diabetic child can get?
Help!!!
Hi. First of all, I'm sorry for your son's recent diagnosis. But I'm glad you've found Juvenation! It was and continues to be a great source of help for me with my 5 yr old son since his diagnosis in May 09. I hope your son is feeling better. It will get easier. But the insurance hurdles seem to just add insult to injury as your family adjusts to this new way of life.
I don't really know of supplemental insurance programs, but a couple of things to ask about or look into.
1. Have you met your deductible and your annual out of pocket maximums? Make sure you know what those are and keep track of the bills and what you've paid. (For everything for your family, not just the diabetes hospital stay, etc.
2. Wait at least 30 days before paying a doctor's bill (wait until you get a second one). Often the doctor's office or hospital will bill you before the insurance company pays their share. Wait a month to make sure the insurance company has had time to process the claim before you fork out money for it. You can always call the doctor's office to ask about what they have billed the insurance company.
3. You can also work with your doctor's office if the insurance company is denying coverage - sometimes it will take the doctor writing a letter that explains why a certain treatment is required for your child before the insurance company will cover it. Or it might be that the doctor's office can use a different code to bill for the claim.
4. Your insurance company may only cover a certain brand of test strips or meter - talk with them about it to understand what they cover. However, also ask if you get your test strips filled from a medical supply company, if they will cover. My son's strips (Onetouch) are not covered if I get them filled at Target, but if I order a 90 day supply from our pump supplier, then they are covered (stupid! IMO) but I just play their game.
5. Make sure your endo is covered as an in network provider. Either find another pediatric endocrinologist that is covered in your area or try to work with your insurance company to see if they will cover the one you have (that can take a LONG time, but I do know someone who has done this successfully)
6. Work with your doctor's billing office to set up a payment plan if needed. They would rather set this up before you get behind on the bills. They might also be able to cut some off of the bill if your insurance won't pay.
Even with all that, it may be a lot of money out of pocket this year. We have a high deductible plan and ended up paying about $3500 before our insurance kicked in to pay 100% for the rest of the year. It is not so bad when the bills are spread out over the year, but the hospital stay and then the first prescription fill of $800 was still very shocking.
I hope that helps some.
Blessings,
Becky
Hi.. I feel your pain... My son has been t1 for 2 years and I have learned alot.. Here is my experience..
1. t1 is considered a disability under federal law... We live in Michigan so I called children special health care services and signed him up.. They cover all expenses not covered by insurance for all diabetic care.. Not sure what PA has but i would start with your counties health service and go from there.. Took some perserverance but we do not pay much a year for him.... , 100.00 a year.. There is a small cost per year based on family income and size of familly but as long as you make ,< 150.000/ year , your son would qualify.
2. I no longer use expensive glucometers and strips.. I buy Kroger glucometer and strips.. The glucometer is 4.00.. So who cares if they get lost.. I have 5 in my house right now... The strips are 8.00/ 25 strips... My insurance covers everything and if i need more then the 300 my script allows for i just go and buy them.... kroger is right up the street and opened all the time.. You can also go the Meijers, walmart... etc.. all the big supermarkets have their own strips and glucometers.... and yes they are accurate regardless of what the expensive glucometer companies say.. Started out with one touch because that is what they gave me in the hospital, but being in the medical field, and as soon as the shock and awe subsided i pretty much changed everything i started with... even insulins. 33g lancets are the smallest they have and we use those.. do not change them everytime either... new nano 4mm pen needles are new and we use those.. they are working on a 1mm intradermal needle now that we will use the day it comes out.. hope this helps.. it gets better.. feel more empowered the more educated i get and the more up on research and what is available. take care kerri
Boy do I have good news for you!!!
I live in PA also. Our wonderful state will provide a secondary insurance for your son free of charge! You need to go to your county assistance office and get the paperwork. It takes a bit of work on your part to get the paperwork done ( MD letter, copies of insurance cards, birth certificates, pay stubs, etc...) But, children with diabetes are covered under the medical loop hole so you can't be denied. It doesn't matter how much money you make or what kind of insurance you already have. The medical assistance insurance will cover anything that your primary insurance doesn't pay for. We don't pay co-pays for MD visits or co-pays for prescriptions. It is such a blessing to have this and I really encourage you to apply. When our daughter was diagnosed the social worker automatically came to see us and tell us about this benefit. She got all the paperwork that the doctor needed to do ready for us. Maybe you can talk to the social worker at the hospital where your son was admitted.
Good Luck!