We use medical insurance to benefit health. It provides us with affordable access to care that treats health conditions, and that helps prevent other illnesses, too. Unfortunately, some medical insurance companies seem completely ignorant of health, however, and sometimes even seem to have an opposite goal. Just ask ?Dasjefe,? who recently told of odd communication he’s had with his Humana insurance company.
Dasjefe posted on Reddit an odd tale of his experience with Humana in his state of Texas. Dasjefe has Type I diabetes. A self-employed contract worker, he’s had to get his own insurance for quite some time, and was relieved when the Affordable Care Act went into effect.
Now he’s only paying about $200 a month, he says, and without subsidy. He still has to pay a lot, though, because the deductible for medications he consistently needs are rather high.
?My coverage is quite good for office visits and labs but somewhat terrible on covering the newer insulins. My out of pocket expense for the Lantus and Novolog I use is very high until I spend $1500 and hit my policy’s drug deductible.?
He complained to Humana about these expenses, too, in a telephone survey the company conducted with its clients a few months ago. He says:
?I don’t remember what ratings I gave them, but at least one of my responses was unfavorable.?
And to show their recognition of his concerns, Humana sent an?apologetic gift to diabetic, sugar-avoiding Dasjefe ? a candy bar marked ?sweet gift for you.?
?They sent me a chocolate bar in the mail as a way of apologizing. A. Chocolate. Bar.?
Chocolate and other sweets aren’t completely off-limits to persons with diabetes, but are recommended to be avoided. For those with a sweet tooth, it must be controlled with infrequent consumption in only very small portions, according to the American Diabetes Association. Dark chocolate (as was Humana’s offering) is regarded somewhat safer for diabetics than standard milk chocolate; the format okayed for consumption by diabetics is of 70 percent cocoa content, and is recommended to be limited to ?a square or two ? every other day(.)?
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t set defining factors for that type of chocolate, so the percentage of cocoa isn’t usually noted on packaging. Instead, FDA only specifies quantities of chocolate liquor and milk solids that can merit product labeling of ?semisweet or bittersweet (dark) chocolate.? In fact, the ?dark chocolate? used in some candies is only flavored palm oil, a saturated fat that diabetics are to avoid.
While perplexed by Humana’s so-called apologetic offering, it’s the state of medical insurance overall that confuses Dajefe the most.
?I hope this country eventually sees the light and switches to a single payer system.?
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