[Diabetes-talk] Prodigy Voice not being paid by the HMOs

Fri Jan 29 05:13:04 UTC 2010

Thank you, Vince.

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vincent Chaney" <vgc732 at optonline.net>
To: "Diabetes Talk for the Blind" <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Jordan Benis" <jbenis at advanceddiabeticsolutions.net>; "Joe Ruffalo" 
<nfbnj at yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 10:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Prodigy Voice not being paid by the HMOs

> Mike, the DAN Board and All Members,
>
> I, as the President of the NFBNJ Diabetes Division was directly involved 
> in
> addressing this issue at our state convention. I wrote the following
> resolution with input from Jordan Benis of Advanced Diabetic Solutions. I
> thought to address this insurance non acceptance of talking blood glucose
> meters initially at the state level.
> The resolution is available in the NFBNJ Sounding Board Fall 2009 from the
> web http://www.nfbnj.org/docs/SB_Fall_2009.doc
> Jordan Benis agreed with me and we both thought to then bring this to the
> 2010 NFB National Convention in Dallas, Tx. Jordan shared his company has 
> to
> reject many people per day due to the HMO formulary list not including any
> talking meters.
> I would be glad to take the lead on presenting this to the NFB Resolution
> Committee to be reviewed in Dallas this year on behalf of the DAN Board 
> and
> all our members.
> Joseph Ruffalo, NFBNJ President has said a resolution from the NFBNJ
> Sounding Board Fall 2009 Fall issue is available to be shared as long as 
> no
> wording is changed without the approval of the NFBNJ Board. I will forward 
> a
> copy of the MS Word document to the DAN Board as the following copy/paste
> may appear slightly choppy coming through Outlook Express.
>
>
> Resolution 2009-03
>
> Regarding Access to Talking Glucometers
>
> WHEREAS, in today's market, certain health insurance plans dictate what
> brand of diabetic equipment a member must use to stay compliant with their
> treatment regimen, claiming that this strategy is utilized to control 
> costs
> to the plan and prevent healthcare premiums from rising; and
>
> WHEREAS, today, most insurance companies contract strictly with one
> manufacturer who provides only inaccessible, non-talking glucometers,
> thereby presenting a serious obstacle to complying with their testing
> regimen for the five million people with diabetes who are blind or 
> visually
> impaired; and
>
> WHEREAS, the most effective way to stabilize diabetes is for a patient to
> test his or her blood sugar frequently and take action on any blood sugar
> that falls outside of medical guidelines; and
>
> WHEREAS, because no accessible blood glucose monitors appear on current
> medical insurance formulary lists, the visually impaired and blind are
> forced to use blood glucose monitors designed for sighted patients; and
>
> WHEREAS, when blind or visually impaired patients are forced to use
> non-talking meters, they often do not test at all, thereby drastically
> increasing their risk of complications, morbidity and mortality; and
>
> WHEREAS, the only way a blind or visually impaired diabetic can acquire an
> accessible blood glucose monitor is through a long and complicated process
> of submitting extensive medical documentation, and approval is not
> guaranteed; and
>
> WHEREAS, the inaccessibility of blood glucose monitors on the formulary
> lists creates a barrier to independence for the blind in choice, 
> management
> of health, and control of their diabetes, and hinders their quality of 
> life:
> Now, therefore,
>
> BE IT RESOLVED by the NFB of NJ, in Convention assembled this 8th day of
> Nov. 2009, in the township of Clark, NJ, that this organization call upon
> our state legislators to speedily pass legislation that accomplishes the
> following purposes: to make it a civil offense to sell inaccessible blood
> glucose monitors to blind clients; to mandate all insurance companies to
> have at least one fully accessible glucometer on their formulary list; and
> to put into place fines or other penalties to ensure compliance with the
> law.
>
>
>
> Vinny
> Vincent Chaney Jr
> NFB Diabetes Action Network (DAN) Board
> NFBNJ Diabetes Division President
> NJAGDU Division President
> NFBNJ Technology Division Vice President
> NFBNJ.ORG Webmaster
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "Diabetes Talk for the Blind" <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Prodigy Voice not being paid by the HMOs
>
>
> Actually, we need specifics: who was denied coverage for the Prodigy Voice
> by which HMO on what date(s)? With whom did the individual(s) speak? Did
> he/she/they have a prescription from his/her/their doctor(s) specifying 
> that
> the Prodigy Voice be used? In what state(s) did these problems occur (laws
> in the several states may be different).
>
> Mike Freeman, President
> Diabetes Action Network
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
> To: "Diabetes Talk for the Blind" <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 11:50 AM
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Prodigy Voice not being paid by the HMOs
>
>
>> well, I am also a Medical Insurance Specialist and anything is possible.
>>
>> Medicare will not deny it,  but that is why I posted it out there, I mean
>> we have a few people who work for these companies on this list, let them
>> answer us on this issue.
>>
>> Cheryl Echevarria
>> Independent Contractor
>> www.Echevarriatravel.com
>> 1-866-580-5574
>> Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
>> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel
>> CST-1018299-10
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "David Meyer" <datemeyer at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'" <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 2:43 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] Prodigy Voice not being paid by the HMOs
>>
>>
>>> Cheryl,
>>>
>>> I don't know if this would make any difference or not.  As I'm sure you
>>> know, all HMOs are not created equal and that some of them in fact try 
>>> to
>>> get out of paying for whatever they can get out of.
>>>
>>> That said, when I had to replace my glucose meter almost two years ago, 
>>> I
>>> told my doctor to write on the referral that the Prodigy Voice was the
>>> only
>>> completely accessible glucose meter presently out there and that without
>>> it,
>>> I could not test independently, nor could I monitor test results. 
>>> Taking
>>> that approach worked for me.
>>>
>>> The unfortunate reality in my opinion is that so long as insurance
>>> companies
>>> continue to play games with our lives, we must sometimes stretch the
>>> truth a
>>> little to get what we want or need.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>> [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of cheryl echevarria
>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:19 AM
>>> To: diabetes-talk
>>> Subject: [Diabetes-talk] Prodigy Voice not being paid by the HMOs
>>>
>>> I had brought this up in October when I returned from the State
>>> Convention
>>> of NY.
>>>
>>> I was told by a Vendor of the Prodigy Voice who is affiliated with
>>> Advanced
>>> Diabetic Solutions, by the way I was told that they are going to be a
>>> vendor
>>> at both this year's convention and next year's as well.
>>>
>>> The Vendors had mentioned that the HMOs such as HIP, Aetna, United
>>> Healthcare, were not paying for the prodigy voice and others because
>>> these
>>> companies feel that these are a fad and that they shouldn't have to pay
>>> for
>>> them.
>>>
>>> I again ask if Tina Rockwell is on the talk list yet, to let us know 
>>> this
>>> so
>>> that we can possibly put action in motion.  Sue and Cy Fetzner who are
>>> the
>>> ones who Represented Advanced Diabetic Solutions as the Convention they
>>> also
>>> do great diabetic shoes, I just got my pair, better then the other 
>>> vendor
>>> we
>>> had in Dallas in 2008.
>>>
>>> This is a very serious issue and should be worked on as a whole, once we
>>> find out exactly what is going on.
>>>
>>> Cheryl Echevarria
>>> Independent Contractor
>>> www.Echevarriatravel.com
>>> 1-866-580-5574
>>> Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
>>> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel
>>> CST-1018299-10
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Diabetes-talk mailing list
>>> Diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> Diabetes-talk:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org/datemeyer%40s
>>> bcglobal.net
>>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>>> Version: 8.5.432 / Virus Database: 270.14.150/2632 - Release Date:
>>> 01/19/10
>>> 07:34:00
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Diabetes-talk mailing list
>>> Diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> Diabetes-talk:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org/cherylandmaxx%40hotmail.com
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Diabetes-talk mailing list
>> Diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Diabetes-talk:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Diabetes-talk mailing list
> Diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Diabetes-talk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org/vgc732%40optonline.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Diabetes-talk mailing list
> Diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Diabetes-talk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/diabetes-talk_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com 