Best Health Insurance for Diabetics
Diabetes is a life-long condition that requires ongoing professional medical care and carries a significantly higher risk of complications such as heart disease, vision loss, diabetic neuropathy, stroke, and more. As a result, medical costs can be quite high.
This can seem daunting at first, but with the right health insurance cover, you can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses and provide adequate preventive care to ensure you remain healthy.
If you are a newly diagnosed diabetes patient, are interested in a new insurance provider, or are simply transitioning to an independent plan, this guide will help you choose the best health insurance cover for diabetes care.
What should you do before choosing a health insurance plan?
- Review your medical history
Before changing your health insurance cover, consult your doctor to get an in-depth overview of your medical history. Write down your current medications and correct dosages along with any DME (durable medical equipment) that you need, durable medical equipment is any diabetes-related equipment designed to improve quality of life.
For people with diabetes, this may include insulin pumps and associated supplies, continuous glucose monitors, and blood glucose meters.
- Make a list of your health care team
This list includes everyone involved in helping you manage your diabetes as well as your annual appointment schedule for each member. This typically includes specialists such as cardiologists, nutritionists, ophthalmologists, podiatrists, and others.
t’s also important to write down the phone number and address of your preferred lab center, pharmacy, and hospital. These details will help you find the best right cover for your specific needs and situation.
Choosing between a traditional health care plan and a high deductible health plan
Health insurance plans typically require policyholders to pay their monthly premiums as well as a specified amount of deductibles. Deductibles include the total amount paid to doctors, pharmacies, labs, or equipment holders’ needs that are covered by insurance.
Yearly deductibles differ between insurance companies and health care plans but once that amount is met, holders only need to pay the co-insurance or co-pay charge during transactions. Co-insurance and co-pay charges are usually significantly lower compared to the deductible.
An HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) is an insurance plan that has a higher deductible and lower monthly premiums. While this is a good option for diabetes patients who rarely see their doctors, diabetes patients should avoid High Deductible Health Plans in most instances.
This is primarily because the cost of prescriptions, DME, doctor visits and other items are usually quite high, and paying larger deductibles can make it even more difficult to afford everything you need to manage your condition and stay healthy. Therefore, if you’re unable to buy diabetes supplies on your own, a High Deductible Health Plan might not be the best option for you.
Traditional health insurance covers tend to have higher monthly payments and lower deductibles. Monthly payments are consistent and the deductible is paid off slowly. This makes it easier to afford and budget for diabetes management.
Factors to consider when choosing health insurance for people with diabetes
The health insurance cover you choose can have a huge impact on your lifestyle. Therefore, you should take time to ask questions, do research and compare different insurance policies. This will help you choose something that works for your situation, rather than a plan that makes your life even more difficult.
So what should you consider when choosing health insurance?
1. Costs associated with the diabetes insurance plan
Cost is one of the most factors in choosing an insurance plan that works for you. You want to ensure that the plan is affordable while still providing you with the necessary coverage for a healthy life. Consider the monthly premiums as well as any out-of-pocket expenses such as co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance payments.
2. What is included in the coverage and benefits?
Be sure to understand everything included in your plan’s coverage and benefits. You don’t want to discover that glucose meters are not covered or you need to buy insulin pumps out-of-pocket after you’ve already signed up and committed your money to the plan.
Find out whether the plan covers specifics such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), lancet devices, glucose control solutions, glucose test strips, patch pumps, insulin pumps, glucose meters or monitors, blood tests, lab tests, diabetes-related medications, A1C tests and more.
Ask your diabetes care team for a comprehensive list of what you do in order to make an informed decision about your new insurance plan.
3. Does the plan cover specific treatments and services related to diabetes?
Managing diabetes means patients rely on a variety of prescriptions, diagnostic testing, and medical health devices to stay healthy. Therefore, it is extremely important to ask about coverage and benefits for diabetes-related services, specialists, preventive care, and counseling, as well as the limitations for each. You can work with your current doctor to digest the information and determine what should be included in your insurance cover.
4. Are your current doctors and other professionals in-network?
If you want to switch plans, you may find out that some of the specialists you’ve been working with are no longer in-network. Some insurers do not provide for out-of-network specialists while in other instances, you may have to pay more to continue seeing your current doctor. Check to see if the professions you are currently working with are in-network before switching to a new health insurance plan.
5. Specific services that you can benefit from
There are some types of health insurance covers that offer specific services and benefits to diabetes patients. Some plans may include insulin as a preventive medication, which can reduce your monthly out-of-pocket costs. Ask potential providers whether their plans offer any unique or special aspects.
The bottom-line
While both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are considered pre-existing conditions, health insurance providers will not deny you coverage for it. The Affordable Health Care act requires the healthcare marketplace to provide better and easier access to affordable healthcare plans, including Medicaid and Medicare.
There’s a wide variety of health insurance plans for people with diabetes that can help you properly manage your diabetes and stay healthy, regardless of your situation.
