My husband, aged 51, his brother, aged 46 and his sister, aged 44, all have type 2 diabetes with major complications. My husband and brother are on disability, and their sister is on dialysis. I have two sons, 25 and 20 years old, who are type 1 and type 2, respectively. When my 20 year old son was told he would have to go on insulin, his doctor told us my son would be an excellent candidate for an insulin pump. Is any financial aid to patients who could better control their diabetes with an insulin pump?

When considering insulin pump treatment, you should talk over all such matters including financial aspects of pump treatment with your diabetes treatment team. They will know what type of medical insurance you have and what the process is for getting prior approval from the insurance companies. If this is done properly, getting such approval should not be much of a problem, in our experience.

SB

[Editor’s comment: Most insurance companies will pay for a pump with proper documentation from your son’s physician. Additionally, the pump manufacturers all have payment plans that may make this treatment option affordable if your son does not have health insurance. The insulin pump companies all have specialists in dealing with this issue. I suggest you contact MiniMed, Disetronic, and Animas directly for more information.

SS]