Protecting seniors with diabetes | News | unionspringsherald.com – Union Springs Herald

By Faye Gaston

Good news for Bullock County senior citizens with diabetes on Medicare was announced on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. This new insulin benefit will be available in all fifty states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Those whose Medicare drug plans don't offer this new option for 2021 can switch plans during the open enrollment season that starts October 15, 2020.

The new benefit is voluntary. One out of every three senior citizens on Medicare has diabetes, and more than three million use insulin.

Most Medicare recipients will have access to new prescription plans that limit their copay for insulin to no more than $35 a month, saving 66% of insulin cost.

One thousand seven hundred fifty insurance plans that offer drug coverage for Medicare recipients have agreed to provide insulin for a maximum copay of $35 a month. Thirty-four million Americans have diabetes, and seven million need insulin.

The human body should make adequate insulin, but some must depend on taking insulin to live a long and healthy life.

The cost of insulin is one of the biggest worries, with 25% of people with diabetes rationing insulin or skipping doses, which puts their lives in jeopardy. Millions of people use insulin to keep their blood sugars at normal ranges and stave off complications of diabetes, which are heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations.

A recently added concern is that people with diabetes do worse with the COVID-19 pandemic. The new Medicare prescription drug benefit offered by private insurers (free market) is added to traditional Medicare ("Part D") or under Medicare Advantage to begin in 2021.

These new "stable copays" for insulin (maximum $35 a month) are the result of a deal "shepherded by the Administration between insulin manufacturers and major insurers." This major accomplishment for senior citizens on Medicare was announced by President Trumps' administration in the Rose Garden on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Medicare premiums are deducted from Social Security payments each month to senior citizens, and this administration has promised to protect Medicare and Social Security.

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Protecting seniors with diabetes | News | unionspringsherald.com - Union Springs Herald