There are two prevalent problems in the world of healthcare that causes hardship to many of the American Populace today. The first is diabetes and the second is insuring people with diabetes. I want you to keep reading, because in a few sentences I will outline what you can do to get health coverage for someone who has diabetes.

First, let us address the condition known as diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there are 20.8 million children and adults that have diabetes. That is 7% of the population. There were 1.5 million new cases of diabetes diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2005. Of those 20.8 million, 6.2 million are undiagnosed and the ADA speculates that there could be as many as 54 million pre-diabetics, which is to say that they have not been diagnosed as a diabetic, but show the tendencies of a diabetic. These figures are overwhelming.

Diabetes also attributes to other health problems. Diabetes can lead to heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease and failure, damage to the nervous system, amputations, dental problems, pregnancy complications, sexual dysfunction, and diabetes can even cause you to have trouble getting over a cold.

It is because of these associated health problems many health insurance companies are not willing to take on the potential risks attached with insuring a diabetic.

So what is a diabetic or the family of a diabetic supposed to do for insurance? The following is a list of options that a diabetic can follow in their pursuit to find health insurance:

1. Look at your employer. Many group health insurers will take people that cannot find health insurance elsewhere. Why is that? Many group health insurers understand and calculate the potential for having a percentage of the employees in a company who are not able to obtain health insurance on their own. This is the primary reason that most group health insurance policies are costly for employers.

2. Do your homework. Shop around. There are plans out there, but you really need to look. If your employer does not offer health insurance there are additional avenues that you can explore. This leads us to number three.

3. Be upfront when talking to an insurance agent. Many times a good agent will have a program for people that are hard to cover due to health complications. For instance I currently have two carriers that I use to help people get coverage.

Additionally, when you sign a health insurance application for coverage you are attesting that the answers that you gave are true and correct. Please understand that if you intentionally misrepresent yourself on an application you can, in the very least, be denied coverage for falsifying an application. I have even seen insurance companies revoke a policy because someone was untruthful on an application.

4. Realize that there is going to be a pre-existing waiting period. I have yet to find one insurance company that will waive the pre-existing waiting period for a diabetic. Please understand that most health insurance companies treat diabetes as an uninsurable condition, and because of that, most insurance companies will deny coverage to new applicants who have been diagnosed as a diabetic.

Therefore, if you have been diagnosed with diabetes and you have found a health insurance company that will insure diabetics, then please recognize that there will, most likely, be a pre-existing condition clause or rider attached.

5. Understand that insurance will be expensive. In all my years as a health insurance professional, I have found that the people with the lowest premiums are the younger healthier people. The converse is equally true. The premiums that are the highest are paid by the people with pre-existing conditions.

I have family members that have been diagnosed as diabetics, and I have friends and clients that have diabetes. I know the attention that is required on a day to day basis. I know the costs involved. I know the difficulty in obtaining good quality health insurance coverage for a diabetic.

Many diabetics might feel that health insurance coverage is just a dream. Coverage for the diabetic is out there. Look at the list, check your resources, and see what your search turns up. You can find it.

By: J Timothy Clark