This Would Never Happen In The US!!
Diabetes patients in Hungary are punished if their A1c's are too high!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Serin-Tais on -
Although I think it's an interesting idea, i don't necessarily agree that it's a good one. I think perhaps repeat offenders that show no effort of improvement should be warned, but it fails to take into account all the other life factors, that may influence one's ability to have perfect blood sugars.
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Permalink Reply by Betty J on
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How sad! Reminds me of that movie 1984. Reading the world news in recent years helps me to remember that movie with Lew Ayers and how his character had to ration his insulin.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Goffe on -
Don't be so sure.
The New York City Health Department has an A1C registry. According to their web site, all laboratories in each borough of NYC are REQUIRED to report the results of EVERY A1C test. It must be nice to have Big Brother (Mayor Mike Bloomberg & his minions) looking over your shoulder.
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Permalink Reply by Jim on -
How about free insulin? If contraception isn't going to require a co-pay, then there is no way insulin should still require a co-pay.
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Permalink Reply by nel on
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Hi Kristin , are you willing to share what else is being covered for PWD ?? ...thanks .
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Permalink Reply by LACA310 on -
Guess it's all how you look at it. I think everyone gets free insulin and supplies in Hungary, but if you take care of your A1c, you get access to free analog insulin also. BTW, my insurance increases my copay way more for analogs because they are branded. I am not sure of the A1c levels, but it appears that you have to 'fail' 2 of 4 tests annually to fall out of favor. I don't get free anything.
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Mountaincat :) ...I get awards from the CDA : free Team Diabetes T-shirts and more ...I signed up today for my number 12 event, Amsterdam , Oct 20 , 2013
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Permalink Reply by Benjamin McLaughlin on -
That would be the end of diabetic complications as we know it....
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Permalink Reply by Skapy on -
I would say that even in the US we are not punished but may have to pay higher insurance costs. When they say you need to pay more or less for health insurance I feel like they already do punish us in a way.
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Permalink Reply by Kristin on -
I live in Hungary and therefore could be affected by this new law. So here are my 2 cents :)
Just to clarify (because the law is a bit different than what is described in the article):
Insulin dependent patients will be required to have 4 A1cs per year (which is standard practice anyway) and if two of the four tests are above 7 (not 6.5!!), then the patient will lose the right to free analog insulin. The patient can still get analog insulin, but the national insurance will only pay 50% of the cost of the insulin rather than the usual 100%. The human insulins will still be covered 100%. Children and people with "life threatening conditions" (I think that this mean hypoglycemia unawareness or past episodes of losing consciousness due to low blood sugar) are excluded from the reform. They will still get 100% coverage for analog insulins no matter what their A1cs are.
They do not test how many carbs the patient eats (some media sources falsely reported that -- I guess they were assuming that a higher A1c means more carb consumption, which is not necessarily the case).
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. I understand the logic behind it, but I'm not sure that it will work as planned. It is a part of many reforms to try and cut down on government spending. I think that insulin was the wrong choice -- I actually think that cutting down the benefit on insulin pumps would have been better. (And I'm an insulin pumper!) It is easier to argue that insulin pumps are an "extra" benefit, but I think that achieving good control with regular insulin is much more difficult. Also, not all people with diabetes are the same and not all people have access to the same resources. I happen to have a great endo, dietician, and medical team, but I know that other patients struggle to get under 7 and I think it is in part because they don't have a good medical team to work with. So not all people have equal opportunities.
In Hungary, the national insurance covers:
- insulin (with a symbolic 1 dollar fee to the patient)
- 5 test strips a day for people on 4+ MDI and insulin pumps (note that if you don't take insulin. test strips are not covered and if you take less than 4 shots a day of insulin per day then you get less than 5)
- insulin pumps and pump supplies are covered at 80% for adults and 90% for children (rest is like a co-pay)
- all medical visits, dietician consultations, blood tests, etc. are free.There is no coverage for CGMS and is not likely to be in the near future.
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