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The Scarlet "D," a take off on Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, has been used to describe being unjustly labeled for society's perceived wrongdoing and can be applied to everything ranging from divorce to depression to diabetes. With healthcare reform commanding our attention and the headlines, ...
yeah, health costs are driven by private corporations taking money out of the public health kitty- countries that disallow profiteering off of sick people have far lower costs than we do- another interesting way to look at your argument would be to compare other countries' ratio of DM cost/total cost with ours- i doubt they are much different, but what we do know is that the rate of growth of DM in the US is moderate as compared to the rest of the world (we're on a per with China)- poorer countries like India have a much higher growth rate in DM- so the irony is that even if DM was a disproportionate cost, it would only be true of the countries where the 'epidemic' is spreading out of control- maybe the Scarlet Letter can be remade in Bollywood...
I have type 2 diabetes, as did my father, my grandmother, etc. This was not due to any lifestyle or food choices, but genetics. Now my brother has it. I am currently in the "donut hole" for meds and have to pay full price for Lantus insulin which is $215 for two bottles (I take 58 units at night). I am having to pay full price for my test strips of over $100/month's supply. And that is only testing 3 times a day. No one should have to pay this much for insulin or test strips. We need to get rid of the medicare drug gap and make sure that everyone with diabetes is able to get the meds they need to live. Or else we die. (gee, isn't that the republican health care plan?)
2 suggestions: 1- you might be able to use a cheaper insulin regimen- either glargine (generic lantus) or multiple injections of generic (NPH, 70/30, regular)- actually, multiple injection regimens can better control GLC (but with more pain :()
2- see Ann Bartlett's post here about cheap test strips- i think walmart or some other bulk buyer sells cheap strips (this may involve changing meters, but there are freebie deals on some of those)
best of luck- let's all hope the congress overcomes corruption and instantiates a public option- with the massive buying power of the government, drug companies will be forced to bring their prices down