Background of Study
You are walking around the grocery store and you have had a long week. You are dying to get a ton of sweets to eat while you binge your favorite show. You must decide if it is a good idea or not because you are a diabetic and you do not have a properly functioning pancreas that does not create insulin. You also are struggling to afford insulin. You must decide if you want to go through the struggles of getting your blood sugar down after you eat or give yourself the appropriate amount of insulin at a high cost. It is a hard decision to make. This is what diabetics go through on a daily basis. Sacrifices must be made. A quote from Khurram Nasir, “[Diabetes] affects millions of individuals, and now at least two to five million adults are adversely affected by their medical bills” (O'Riordan). Of those two to five million adults, Among those with diabetes, 41.1% reported that they were a part of a family that had problems in paying their medical bills in the past and / or over a period of time. Adding on, 15.6% reported they were unable to pay medical bills at all. (O’Riordan). Families are unable to afford the insulin and basic products needed for diabetes due to the high prices.
In Illinois, Diabetic families struggle more financially. According to an article by the American Diabetes Association, diabetes medical expenses are approximately 2.3 times higher than the average person who does not have diabetes (“The Burden of Diabetes in Illinois”). Although diabetics should be paying more since they do have a disease, they should not be paying nearly as much as they do. Making the prices reasonable for the diabetic to be able to afford the equipment and medication that they need would help the diabetics greatly. They would not have to worry about when and where they get their next vial of insulin. They also would not have to worry about limiting the amount of insulin they give themselves.
