11 Comments
Does your insurance plan provide any coverage for health coaching services?
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ツ Unsure. However, medicare does cover all sorts of physical therapy, wellness, and other programs. There might be another jewel in there someplace.
If you are referring to education I have an ample amount offered to me through Medicare. My care team is available on weekdays via secure patient portal texting.
My insurance covers a Livongo meter and strips with a team that monitors 24 hrs your results and contacts you to offer assistance. Their is also a diabetes nurse who will contact you regularly if you want their services.
Yes. They offer a health coach RN case manager upon request as part of the plan. I find the insurance RN health coach is pretty worthless and rather inappropriate for adults with advanced duration T1 diabetes. They follow a script to teach PWDs the ABCs of diabetes survival skills and motivational techniques for behavior change that is more geared towards T2.
The efforts by insurance to offer education and coaching are a big step forward, but mostly aimed at T2D or can help new or less educated T1D. Harder for a service for many to address the needs of uncommon people like us- long term T1D. I am glad this effort is being made. They are finally adopting a prevention model- invest resources in keeping people healthy or helping them get better- rather than just paying for bad outcomes when they occur!
I answered without knowing for sure what your question refers to. My decades long health care plan did not cover what I think you are asking about – though the only time I needed something was for a nutrition session (many years ago!) to address both the adoption (new in those days) of an MDI routine and to work on reducing cholesterol. Did not look fir a session after that, and not sure I foresee a need now, so I haven’t explored what Medicare might cover.
My supplement to Medicare through Blue Cross does provide a health coach for diabetes. However, she had a scheduled calling calendar to meet, and it seemed like she always called when I was trying to make a meal or doing another task that seemed a bigger priority. After talking with her for a few months, I kindly asked her to take my name off her list. T1Ds usually know more about their daily management than some stranger on the telephone. Her calls didn’t make any changes in my management, so I gave up on the telephone calls.
I do have a Diabetes Nurse Case Manager with my insurance. I don’t need her for Diabetes management, but she is there to help navigate the health care and insurance systems.
Yes, a health coach is offered. I asked to be removed from the call list because the program is for non-insulin dependent adults dx. with Type 2 diabetes. I have access to a very skilled diabetes educator who has access to my pump/CGM data and is available to offer specific information/answers to my questions. Sixty-six years with Type 1 has taught me that generic information has little value.
Yes, but like many, it focuses on type 2 not type 1. I tried it but when she asked how often I test my blood sugar and she thought starting with a fasting was probably the easiest one to start with, I thought she was kidding! At the time I was testing around 8 times a day. We didn’t last long.
Yes, I can get Diabetes Ed thru insurance, but -as many have said – having had T. One for 56 years, I am more knowledgeable than the educators. We ‘re lucky to have an excellent T1D support group here.