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.
Family caregivers pledge to fulfill their loved ones’ end-of-life wishes. But too often circumstances change, and they must break their word and guard against breaking hearts ― including their own.
On Season 3, Episode 2 of the podcast “An Arm and a Leg,” an Illinois woman harnesses a lifetime of experience — and frustration — with health care finances to help other people solve their medical bill problems.
Those who rely on plug-in health devices or medicine that requires refrigeration are scrambling to find ways to avoid potentially life-threatening disruptions now and in future fire season shutdowns.
Katie West, an American health researcher who has lived in Germany the past three years, hasn’t mastered the language and misses her family. But not having to worry about the cost of her lifesaving medication makes it OK.
The latest technology makes managing Type 1 diabetes much easier. But managing insurance company rules for the supplies is a big obstacle for some patients.