Something I have been meaning to do is figure up the cost impact of health care for people with diabetics. Most insurance policies don’t cover diabetic testing supplies. That gives diabetics an extra $100-$120 expense every month. I want to take a minute and figure up what premiums plus average out of pocket expenses would be, then add in the cost of diabetic testing supplies.

First let me set the base lines. The federal poverty level is $10,830. Those making 133% or less of the FPL would be eligible for Medicaid, which does cover testing supplies. So those making $14,403 or less per year are eligible for Medicaid. The following numbers are for a 40 year old single person.

So somewhere between 150% and 175% of the FPL is a magical cut off line. Below that line you would actually be better off to have your income reduced to 133% of the FPL, go on Medicaid and get the government to pay for your testing supplies.

This is really a big problem giving the growing number of diabetics in this country. In 2007 it was predicted that almost 8% of the U.S. population are diabetic, and that number has certainly gone up since then. Since we are looking at such a large segment of our population needing testing supplies, something has to be done to fix this serious flaw in the legislation.

Let’s look at the one fix I have been proposing – fixing the FPL. I want to take the new FPL I proposed last month, which accurately adjusts the FPL based upon inflation. My new FPL would currently be $12,552, making $16,694 the new cut off for Medicaid. So here’s the chart with the adjusted numbers.

Still someone at 150% would be better off going on Medicaid, but the put where you start coming out ahead does lower some. This is a move in the right direction.

Let me explain how I found out I was a diabetic. I didn’t go to the doctor for years. Finally I got the flu pretty bad and had to break down and see the doctor. She wanted to do blood work for my follow up and that’s when my diabetes was discovered. Yeah it sucked, but since I learned how to control it and monitor it regularly, I must say I have felt 100 times better. No more constant fatigue and being cranky all the time. Now I got energy again.

That was just me. Now imagine what will happen when more people have health insurance and go to the doctor. We will most likely see the percentage of the population that is diabetic jump from 8% to something more like 12%.

I do respect the work people like Nate Silver and Paul Krugman have done to try and sell the bill, but these are strictly number people. This is the kind of “real world” logic this debate has been seriously lacking. Diabetes is one of the most wide spread diseases in this country. It requires constant monitoring of your blood sugar levels, and the supplies to do that are very expensive and not covered by most insurance plans.

When the FPL was first created diabetes wasn’t as big of a problem, but now that it affects so many we need to consider that into the cost of living. And it’s not just the cost of testing supplies. Eating healthy can really add to the grocery bill. It’s funny how something “low in sugar” can cost upwards of 50% more than the normal item. All this adds up quick and people living even at 175% of the FPL really struggle to get buy if they are a diabetic.

So the best route to fix this is by fixing the FPL. It’s a much better alternative than forcing insurance companies to cover testing supplies, since that would greatly increase overhead and those costs would get passed on to everyone.

Please take a few minutes and urge your members of Congress to fix the FPL and apply real world logic to the solution.

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