Finances of a Diabetic

Between doctor appointments with the 5 specialists every few months, and the medication and supplies, maintaining good health as a Type 1 Diabetic can be extremely overwhelming in the financial department. With all of the copays and deductibles along with the insurance premiums, we definitely try to find discounts when at all possible. One thing we have discovered is that doctors tend to have great copay discount cards on medication they prescribe. We have gotten many copays for free for a short period of time when using these cards. Another thing that doctors have is samples from the manufacture of many medications, and even insulin and they are very willing to hand these over to their patients. We have also gotten countless glucose meters from the Endocrinologist.

One thing that many people may not realize is that some doctors will let you pay monthly on a balance and will not charge you interest. About 4 years ago when Vince started his eye surgeries, we did not have the best insurance and the bill grew very fast. I called the doctor after receiving a statement in the mail, and desperately asked if they offered any type of payment plan. The women was very nice and said absolutely and even asked ME how much I wanted to pay each month. Well, we still, after 4 years, are paying monthly and have never been charged interest.

One last thing that we haven't used until this year is the option for a flex spending account. This is when your employer gives you the option to have money taken out of your pay, tax free and set aside and put on a debit card for you to use for medical related expenses. I always knew this would be a good option for us, but the idea of having money taken out of my check each week made me nervous. This year we started with a relatively small amount (in comparison to what I knew we would use) and believe it or not, we used the entire amount by the third week of January. Needless to say this is a great thing for us and we will be putting aside a lot more next year.