Jonathan Ramsey

This morning, my check up at the endocrinologist turned into a discussion of our out of control healthcare system and its costs. He looked a little surprised when I told him that I personally had to pay $2500 for a new pump. My insurance has a $2500 cap on DME (Durable Medical Equipment). So, of the $5500 cost of a new insulin pump, United Health Care will pay $2500, Minimed will give me $500 trade-in on my current pump, leaving me $2500 to pay.

Imagine, if you will, a single parent earning a modest living. Imagine, also, a family of 4 dealing with high rents or a variable mortgage, school, clothing, food, and the like, on a modest income. I complain about these costs, but I know that many people are trying to deal with these on less income than I am.

When I got my current pump, in 2002, I had Cigna. Cigna and Medtronic-Minimed had a negotiated price of $4500, and I had to pay 10% of all DME. So, my out-of-pocket was $450. Every 3 months, I paid 10% of the cost for the insertion sets and insulin reservoirs that you change every three days. That came to around $45, every three months.

In the past 3 years, though, with Blue Cross Blue Shield, and now United Health Care, I have had a deductible to meet before they start paying. Currently, I have a $750/family member deductible. So, my first two boxes of pump supplies, each year, are mostly out-of-pocket. Luckily, I still only have to pay $10 copay each for my monthly supply of glucose test strips and insulin.

So, let’s return to our exemplary family. For the first half of each year, someone with a child on a pump, with insurance like mine, would pay $20 each month at the druggist, then $125 each month for pump supplies ($750/6). The second half of the year, once the deductible is paid, requires $15 per month; assuming that copay is still %10 for durables. For the pump itself, Medtronic-Minimed can put you on monthly payments of $50 to pay off the $2500. Doctor copays of $20 every three months would work out to almost $7 per month ($6.67, roughly, actually.) So, for six months, the family would pay $202 monthly. Then, for six months, they would pay $92 per month.

Add to this the cost of any other care the child may need, and this adds up to an enormous cost for many families. If you’d like to find out more, or about organizations that help families dealing with the cost of a child’s diabetes care, check out Islets of Hope, and iPump are so important. If you have a child with diabetes, check out these sites, as well as Children with Diabetes, an online community for kids, families, and adults with diabetes.

I’ll post some info on the continuous glucose monitoring systems, now available, but not covered by any major insurance carriers.

Tags: diabetes insulin+pump endocrinologist doctor+visit children+with+diabetes medtronic-minimed type+1+diabetes

The August Diabetes Forecast magazine arrived in my mailbox, today. On the front cover was Poison frontman, Bret Michael. Maybe someone at the American Diabetes Association really does reading my blog. In the past few months, I’ve posted several times about the delicate balance you must attain right before you throw a type 1 diabetic onto a hot stage.

Bret Michaels expands on my legacy of “rockin’ out with your pump out”, especially since the debut of his “looking for love” VH1 reality show, “Rock of Love”. Watch out Scott Baio! Bret has awesome 80s legacy tats, and an endless selection of tattered hats and do-rags. All the younger-than-him reality tv groupies love that, so it seems.

Bret was diagnosed at age 6, and, in his interview, gave credit to his father’s advice on dealing with life. So, whether you love or hate Spandex, Bret Michaels does nothing half-way, and works hard to control his diabetes.

So, check out his show. Check out the article in the August 2007 Diabetes Forecast. And, Bret, I’ll see you somewhere between 80 and 120 milligrams per deciliter.

Tags: diabetes bret+michaels poison rock+and+roll vh1 reality+tv rock+of+love type+1+diabetes

Listen up, all my fellow insulin pump users. This is the thing we’ve all been waiting for. Haven’t you always wanted to beautify your ugly infusion set? Stop wishing and start accessorizing, Babies!

No longer must you worry about wearing that crop top, going to the pool, or participating in the other thing. Everyone will be excited when they see your Groovy Patch!

Why do I want these kitties to say, in IMPACT typeface, “I’M IN YR ABZ KYOOTIFYING YR NPHYOOZHUN SETT”?

Tags: diabetes insulin+pump groovy+patch infusion+set freedom lolcats

The past few years, I’ve watched my own monthly diabetes-related expenses increase in orders of magnitude. Increasing insurance premiums, deductible increases, and all but two of my expense items (insulin and strips) now apply to my deductible, have definitely made a dent in my budget.

With those worries, imagining having to worry about those things for one of my children would be far worse. And, unfortunately, millions of parents do worry, and have difficulties dealing with these ever-increasing expenses to care for their children with diabetes.

There is help for parents who have difficulty with their children’s diabetes expenses, ipump.org. ipump.org offers help for children who need help meeting the costs of their diabetes care. This includes insulin, oral medications, durable goods, and physician visits.

Please visit ipump.org, and consider helping. Their motto is true. “Insulin may not be a cure but without it a child with diabetes will die.”

Tags: diabetes children medical+costs insurance+premiums ipump.org insulin fundraising

Thanks to everyone who came out to O’Malley’s, this weekend. I had a great time in two cellars!

Friday night, we hid in the subterranean safety from the tornado watches -that never turned to warnings, in fact, the warnings never crossed into Missouri. I was surprised, and pleased, at the number of people who braved the rain and storm warnings to come to my Friday night show.

Saturday was a complete blow out. Thanks to the many dancers, Melissa and her family and friends, and Aunt Missy and her family. Thanks also to the wedding reception from the other cellar. Many people came in to check out the festivities of the top cellar, and ask for songs after the night was over.

The recording has yielded some useful results. Watch here for more, and a download or two!

On the “Diabetes vs Irish Music” front, I misplaced my glucose meter, Saturday night. This is always a bit of a pickle, guessing, trying to under-estimate insulin needs, favoring slightly high glucose levels to slightly low. Thanks to my aunt, I was able to check it in the morning. Thanks also to Target for having a replacement, and an upgrade, actually.
Cheers!

Tags: o’malley’s+irish+pub performance wedding diabetes irish+music live underground weather tornado+watch

In the most intimate of venues in which I’ve performed, some people who’ve witnessed my show may have also seen my pre- and post-set regimen of blood glucose testing. This is, sometimes too often, followed by the regimen of downing glucose tablets or getting juice from the bar.

I must confess. I have Type I Diabetes. Now, contain yourself. I have a strong aversion to puns and cute expressions to refer to diabetes: “the sugar [whatever]”, “the beedies”, for example. I have diabetes. I do prefer saying, “I have diabetes”, rather than, “I am a diabetic”. I might say, “I am diabetic.” I’m not, however, a dogmatic, non-noun person. I do believe people have more going on in their lives than being diabetic. So, I believe it follows that referring to someone as a noun phrase that refers strongly to one aspect of that person –A diabetic, A deaf-mute, A junkie- waters down any discussion of that person as a whole person with a full life, family, and aspirations.

Semantic dogma aside, I am a musician with Type I Diabetes, and I think it’s time to start speaking up about it. Type I diabetes was once commonly known as Juvenile Diabetes. I hope that, in publishing some of my thoughts, and what my day is like, that others, friends, co-workers, adults, children, and parents of children with diabetes might find something useful in what I see and feel.

One thing I found out, when I was diagnosed, is that people have no idea what Type I Diabetes is all about. Its causes, its treatment, and the side effects of its treatment are all full of mystery, and, unfortunately, a lot of myths. In the coming months, I’ll discuss these in more detail. I hope to compile a section on my site for musicians and others with Type I (or even Type II) Diabetes, and how to handle the interruptions it can cause. Believe me, I know about these interruptions.

Tomorrow, I have a long day of performing. Saint Patrick’s Day, for me, involves the most performing I do in any single day of the year. I commonly spend 6-9 hours on stage, singing and playing. This amount of time under lights, using all my skeletal muscles for an hour or two at a time, eating, and adjusting my pump, all play against the delicate balance of my body’s insulin and blood glucose. I’m pretty good at this balancing, but I have my share of low blood sugars and subsequent late starts to prove I can’t always do it. This is all hard enough in a two- or four-hour show, so Saint Patrick’s Day is a real challenge.

I’ll write up my experience, tomorrow. So, tune in. Maybe, someday, I’ll drag a video crew around, and we can create a new reality show: Who Wants To Be The Next Type I Diabetic Irish Musician?!?

Cheers!

Tags: musician+with+diabetes diabetic+performers diabetes type+I+diabetes type+1+diabetes st+patrick’s+day saint+patrick’s+day