An unhappy and very pregnant girl walked over and I asked her if she had gone through the screening van. She said she had and said "my blood sugar was high". I replied "what was your blood sugar?"
She replied "399".
"It was 399? Do you have gestational [diabetics}?
"Yes but I've been a type 1 since I was 10."
Later, I talked with the Nurse who was taking the blood sugar readings and she said she'd talked with this girl. This young woman was actually 26 (but looks a lot younger) and claimed to be 7 months along. However, we (the nurse and I) agree that she should looked a lot further along than a mere 7 months!
The young woamn said she was on insulin 4 times a day and had taken a shot a hour before the 399 reading. I later talked with this girl and her husband (or boy friend) and they both looked scared! Well, they should look scared! The young woman n eeds some serious medcal care and that means some heavy duty medical insurance. I hope he has a good job with good medical insurance but I fear they are unwed so she can still be on her parent's health plan. Once she is too old (27 years old?), she won't be on her pariental health insurance. She would then have to have a husband with good medical insurance or a good job herself with good medical incurance. She is going to have trouble holding a job when her type 1 diabetics get much worst. (We could ask my late younger brother Charlie about being a juvenile onset type one and the piss poor medical insurance such folks but "late" means he is dead. Charlie died of complications from his dibetics...)
I fear that "Omamacare" will be overturned by the next Republician President and insurance companies will go back to:
- refusing to insure those with pre-existing medical conditions siuch as diabetics or
- those who develop serious new medical conditions (i.e. type 2 diabetics)
- letting pharm companies charge why too much for meds or to increase costs after a med has been in use for a while or
- unbundling costs and jacking them too high -er- "making them reasonable" (OK, too damn high) and
- insurance companies not covering medically required medical devices. Some of these "medcially required devices include:
- diabetic test stripes
- catheders
- eye glasses
- hearing aids
- prothestic limbs and
- a number of other devices...
