Paying for Diabetes
Would it surprise you to hear that health professionals often find that people with diabetes are paying for things that their insurance should cover? It can be confusing because different plans cover different benefits and what is covered can change from year to year. For example, Medicare only recently began to pay for blood glucose testing strips for everyone, regardless of whether they took insulin or not.
Diabetes education is now being paid for by more and more insurers. Most states have laws that require coverage by Medicaid and other insurance companies. Medicare now provides a one-time benefit of ten hours of initial training and two hours per year for follow-up training from a diabetes education program recognized by the American Diabetes Association. To qualify, you must be newly diagnosed with diabetes. If you have had diabetes for a while but did not receive training at the time of your diagnosis, or if you are at significant risk for complications from diabetes, or you have a change in treatment, or your blood sugar is out of control, you may qualify.
If you are not sure whether your plan covers diabetes supplies and education, your benefits office, insurance or managed care office or case manager can help you find out what you are entitled to receive. The diabetes educator at your program can also help. If you are denied coverage for something you believe is a benefit, you can contact your insurance company or the state insurance commissioner.