| By :
Marilyn Katz
The US health reform bill passed over a year ago. However, millions of Americans are still struggling with medical bills. People with prior health conditions have a particularly hard time. One example of a group of people who have trouble finding insurance is diabetics. Group policies, through employers, should cover most medical services and prescriptions. However, many Americans lack group coverage. They may have jobs without group health plans, or they may have trouble keeping health insurance while unemployed. In most states, individual or family major medical policies will accept diabetics. Since proper care is crucial to maintain health, how can families get help if they cannot even buy a private policy? How do uninsured diabetics afford health care? Some parts of the new health reform bill have already been implemented. You will see more and more changes. Right now, private health insurance companies cannot turn down applicants up to age nineteen just because they have pre-existing health issues. And now, children can stay on their parent's plan up to age twenty-six. This has helped many people make sure that young people, whose parents have group coverage, get help affording health care. But what about adult diabetics without medical plans? What about young people who do not have the luxury of parents with health insurance? So, where do people like these go for assistance? Every state in the US has a high risk health plan or pool for people with health conditions. Now, there is also a new federal health pool that is being implemented all over the nation. You can look for the website for your own state's high risk health plan in order to find more information for your state, and for how and when the federal plan will be implemented in your area. This new national high risk program should be a big help for many. But even though each state has a plan, some of these plans are quite expensive. They may also have waiting periods, and also, not everybody qualifies for coverage. There is also a limit to the amount of people who will be accepted by the national program. The children of families with low to moderate incomes may also qualify for the Childrens Health Insurance Plan (CHIPS). CHIPS is a joint national and state program which covers the children of US families who cannot get health insurance. So while the state or national high risk pools will help some people, they are not a perfect solution for everybody. And families must meet income qualifications in order to get their children enrolled in CHIPS. There is a private foundation that brings together a lot of resources, including health resources for diabetics. This is the Partnership for Prescription Assistance. You can visit their website at PPARX.org. The PPARX organization has connected lots of sick people with the assistance they need. As the name implies, you can find a central resource for help affording prescription medication and supplies. There is also a simple zip code search if you need to search for low cost clinics and doctors. In addition, you can find contact information for foundations with money to help people who have problems because of specific diseases. It is tough for people to manage their health issues without a good medical plan. However, this is the situation that millions of Americans find themselves in. There are resources out there to help these people, and it may take some work, but you can find help.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesbacklink.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
