So I was laid off about 3 weeks ago from a great job with great benefits....company closed the doors very unexpectedly. Bummer.
I am now in the boat that so many unfortunate diabetics find themselves in: that sh*tty boat of zero insurance. I have an option to do COBRA, of course....for a mere $550/month. Seeing as I'll be on unemployment for the unforseeable future which will rake in a whopping $1800 a month (before taxes), its really starting to freak me out thinking about paying that much for the insurance premium. And I'm getting realllllly sick of hearing friends tell me "Oh Jen, just go to ehealthinsurance.com and find a new plan! I did, mines soooo much cheaper!" Must be nice to go thru life w/o a pre-existing condition in America, eh?
End of rant. Sorry...so the point is, has anyone found ANY kind of insurance in the US (specifically I'm in Southern California) that would take a type 1 diabetic? Honestly at this point, I do have quite a few supplies (enough to last me almost a year, I'm a hoarder) so even getting insurance that didn't cover my diabetes but didn't cost me half my 'paycheck' would be so great until I can find another job.
Thanks in advance for any help, guys.....:)
Jen
I would do cobra though,at least initially, because I have heard insurance companies do not have to accept you as an individual with a preexisting condition, but your next insurance company will have to insure you if you don't have a lapse in coverage. You would have to pay out of pocket, like I do because I have a 5k deductible, for all of your MD visits and bloodwork testing. Blood work every three months alone can really add up. For example my last bill was 1200.00 for a visit to the MD and one for the CDE. They charged me 200.00 plus 671.00 in one visit to the diabetes educator who told me how to use my cgm when I got it. You can always cancel the coverage after you find something else and I hope you won't be out of work too long!! That's all I know. Good luck!
You probably won't be able to afford coverage if you try to purchase an individual plan right now, even if someone will cover you and your Type 1 diabetes. If you can't find new employment/insurance coverage before your COBRA runs out, I believe you will be eligible for either one of these programs in California. Either the Managed Risk Medical Plan (MRMIP) or the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). Check out this website: http://www.mrmib.ca.gov/index.html and then click on either the tabs for the MRMIP or the PCIP for more info. Either way it looks like you'll have to use up your COBRA before you can receive benefits from these plans. I'd check out these websites, and maybe contact someone at one of these agencies to talk over you options, it looks like they have people whose job it is to help you apply for these things and figure out if you're eligible for the benefits (which you should be based on what you've said above). Hope that helps! Good luck, it sure is a frustrating place to be, I've been there before! I used a PCIP plan in Utah while I was in between , and it was awesome! It's a lot of red tape at the beginning, but usually the coverage is pretty decent.
