Why Bother with Diabetes Health Insurance
Nowadays, diabetes chooses no age. Even young people are already suffering from diabetes. It is an illness that must not be ignored for it can be deadly. It can lead to stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, amputations, and many other illnesses. A person with diabetes needs test strips, meters, and insulin daily. Regular medical check ups are also needed. But with the rising prices of products and services, can diabetics still afford treatment?
Without any insurance, paying for prescription drugs and checkups would be difficult. An insurance would help pay for patients' medical expenses. It could provide discounts towards cost of medicines and checkups. Diabetics would be given insurance policy reimbursement for the medical supplies they need.
Problem in Obtaining Health Insurance
Most health insurance companies don't provide coverage for diabetics due to associated health problems. According to writer Flor Serquina, many health insurance companies can use an applicant's health status as a basis for their insurance premium and deny coverage for an individual with a chronic health condition.
Diabetes Health Insurance: Tips in Choosing
To avoid faulty plans under a health insurance, diabetics should choose simple and easy to understand insurance policies. Clark Insurance Brokers founder J. Timothy Clark enumerates these things diabetics should know in choosing health insurance:
1. Look at your employer. Group health insurers will take clients who can't find health insurance elsewhere. They understand and calculate the potential for having a percentage of company workers who can't get health insurance on their own. Health insurance expert Martin Unger adds that with group health insurance, you can't be declined for any pre-existing condition.
2. Shop around. There are plans out there.
3. Be direct when talking to an insurance agent. A good agent will usually have a program for those that are hard to cover due to health complications. Be truthful in filling up a health insurance application. You can be denied of coverage for falsifying an application.
4. There is going to be a pre-existing waiting period. If you are diabetic and you have found a health insurance company that will insure diabetics, keep in mind that there will most likely be a pre-existing condition clause attached.
5. Insurance will be expensive. People with the lowest premiums are people who are younger and healthier. The premiums that are the highest are for those people with pre-existing conditions.
Diabetes Health Insurance: Where to Get More Information
American Diabetes Services provides information on health insurance options in each state in the United States. The website has a map where you select a state and you will be directed to a section that explains the health insurance coverage for the chosen state. You can also find information on health insurance for those at least 65 years old as well as insurance for those who are employed and unemployed.
You can also visit Diabetic Insurance.net, which is a directory of health and life insurance companies who help diabetics obtain the health insurance program they need.