I was diagnosed in 2002 shortly after my health insurance went into effect. Good fortune, there. I was part of my then boyfriend’s company, & we were part of a group. After splitting with him, I went on COBRA, and when that expired, I got an individual policy. It is a guaranteed issue policy that has had yearly increasing premiums. Last year, in April, the premium jumped from $498/mo. to $625/mo. I just received a letter stating that on March 1, 2008, the premium will increase AGAIN to $914/mo.! I am a self-employed artist who travels the country selling my sculptures at festivals, & don’t see how I can afford to keep insurance at these ever-increasing costs. Has anyone out there found reasonable rates on individual policies?
I don’t want to get political, but this is why I tell everyone to vote for their own self interests. Universal health care comes to mind.
That is a shame that you almost have to pay $1000 a month.
I am on my wife’s health ins at work, we pay OVER $1,000 / month for the month gap come summer. To top that off we have a $4,000 deductable, that is teh IN-SSTEM deductable and if we need care say away from home or go to a doc outside the system its a SEPERATE HIGHER yet deductable on top of the 4k.
Now add that all up, you are talking about a grand total of $16,000/year JUST for health insurance, no food, cloths nor roof over your head. That is if you can do t all in system…lol
(&( GOMER
We own our own business with only four employees. So, for us with two children we end up paying close to $1200 a month for a family of four. To top that off, I have a $500 pharmacy deductible before they cover 80% of my meds. Pump supplies are not considered meds, they’re under supplies which has it’s own $1000 deductible. They’ve got us by the balls. But, I’m not quite sure that universal healthcare is the answer either. Mostly because I have questions that have yet to be answered. For example, can I still be on the pump? Or is the govornment going to dictate what kind of care get? The real issue, I believe, is this. Those of us that take good care of ourselves are paying higher insurance premuims for the ones that continue to file expensive claims and neglect their diabetes. Sorry to say, but that’s not our problem. We should be rewarded for trying to live and survive with this disease.
Amen to that. I have maintained throughout my relatively short relationship with diabetes that our health insurance premiums should be determined on an individual basis. This may be impractical, but so are 4 digit monthly medical costs for a healthy person with a broken pancreas.
Universal Health Care is definitely a Life-saver and we would not consider living in a country
without it, unless we were millionaires(which I’m pretty sure we’re not :D)or if my Husband
applied for and was accepted or was recruited for a secure job with Good coverages.
(Thank God we’ve almost always had decent to Great coverage and haven’t needed
Insurance companies for meds.).
Universal varies somewhat in different countries and can even be a bit different from
Province to Province.
In Canada, Universal covers all Dr.'s appointments**/check-ups, hospital stays,
surgeries/procedures and treatments(not cosmetic), medications while in the hospital,
therapies, etc. Our Gov.(in 2006) started covering pumps and accessories for children
18 and under who were not covered by their Parents/Caregivers separate Insurance/or
by their work coverage.
Universal here does not cover a Person’s normal monthly medications. People who are
on full or partial Disability/CPP, Welfare(Ontario Works), senior pensioners/CPP, have the
basic coverage of the most common drugs, dental, eyeware, etc. (Exception is given, if the
common meds. are not helping the Patient)
Last Fall, I seen/heard Minister Smitherman telling reporters on the news, that our Gov. was
also going to cover costs of Insulin pumps/disposible accessories for any Diabetic who takes
Insulin and isn’t covered by any other means and is a resident of Ontario. (A supposed trial for
the rest of Canada)I had heard nothing since, could find nothing on the recent news or net about
it and even questioned myself.
With much research(where there’s a will there’s a way), I finally came across the Gov. meetings
covering that and many other topics. It was near being signed. I will take it that it was signed. They
just haven’t said when the coverage starts yet.
**(Except recently, People without Diabetes or other serious eye problems, pay about $50. for
the visit). We also pay $45. for an Ambulance drive if we make the call.
If I am incorrect on any of this information, please feel free to correct me. :o)
Wow! A reward for Diabetic’s who look after themselves. What a concept Curlzzz! 
I’d much prefer if every Diabetic (who is physically/mentally able to…I do know in certain People’s
cases it is Very hard) would get the motivation to take the steps, to accept this disease and just get
it done to gain control. The Help is out there and the Help is right here.
Saving ourselves from complications and early death is reward enough. We owe it to ourselves First,
to our loved ones… Second. (Plus that would also help bring the prices down). 
Sorry for preaching…
The closest thing here state-side, (other than Hawaii) is the VA health system for military vets. It’s a mixed bag at best, the doc at the local clinic is a joke, I would not want him working on my car! My blood counts last time, RBC hemaglobin etc, were low, so he asked me If I have cancer, been bleeding and such. Questins he should be telling me not asking me.
The VA will not even cover Lantus, unless you are not in control, read punish those that do. Often there seems to be little rhyme or reason as to what get what level of care. You can wait 3 to 6 months to get an appointment, then all too often a clinic date will get cancelled and you have to start over and wait another 3-6 months.
I am on Lantus and Humalog neither covered by the VA nor will they cover coreg-cr or even plain Coreg. The VA has gone downhill, way down over the last decade.
(&( GOMER