Health plans’ coverage of the medication, branded as Wegovy — which has a $1,300-a-month price tag — is not a sure thing.
Camp Ho Mita Koda, an Ohio camp for children with diabetes, plans to host in-person camp this year despite the pandemic. It’s unusual, especially given that children under 12 likely won’t be able to get covid vaccines for months and many who attend medically focused camps could be especially vulnerable to serious covid complications. But these camps are important not just for the kids, but also for parents.
The numbers of people wearing these monitors are soaring as prices have fallen and device-makers promote them to doctors and patients. But few studies show the devices lead to better outcomes for the nearly 25 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes who don’t inject insulin to regulate their blood sugar.
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The progressive Change Now PAC launched a campaign ad, which also circulated on Facebook, criticizing President Donald Trump and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) for not “fighting” for people with diabetes who struggle with the high cost of insulin.
Although sharing prescription medicines is illegal, many people with diabetes are turning to underground donation networks when they cannot afford their insulin. Caps on insulin copays enacted in Colorado and 11 other states were designed to help. But the gaps between insulin costs and many patients’ financial realities are only widening amid the economic crisis of the COVID pandemic.
While insulin is the poster child for outrageous prescription costs, patients are paying ever more to treat depression, asthma, HIV, cholesterol and more. And the pandemic has overtaken efforts to force the issue in Congress.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, more patients are administering dialysis to themselves at home rather than receiving it in a clinic. Although home dialysis limits exposure to the virus, it comes with its own challenges.
Demand has exploded for rubbing alcohol and alcohol swabs, which are being deployed in the disinfection fight against the coronavirus. Now, people with diabetes who rely on the products for infection control are left scrambling.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with Virta Health, a California startup that offers remote coaching and monitoring for people with Type 2 diabetes to help them follow the ultra-low carbohydrate diet.