Diabetes assistance programs are needed because diabetes is a costly disease. It is costly in terms of both money and in the toll it takes on the individual’s health and it is costly on the emotions of both the patient and the family. Diabetes financial assistance is available in many forms. For example, almost every pharmaceutical company offers a program to help with both drugs and testing equipment. There are also free clinics in most major cities.
Diabetes Assistance from Non-Profit Organizations
- Insulin for Life USA collects and distributes unopened and still in-date insulin, test strips, and other supplies that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted. They send them to recognized organizations. You can contact them for any diabetes assistance programs that may be useful to you and also to donate any supplies you may not need.
- ACT1 Diabetes offers diabetes assistance programs on a short-term basis to help with non-prescription supplies. This diabetes supply assistance program is for diabetics that need help because of their income level.
Diabetes Assistance Dogs
One of the often overlooked diabetes assistance programs available is the use of a diabetic assistance dog. There are many ways to get one of these service dogs, even if you can’t afford one. Diabetes assistance programs can provide some help if you can’t afford one of these life-saving animals. They help their human owners both with companionship and with monitoring their blood sugar levels. They are mostly used by elderly or disabled diabetics who live alone. They use their noses to detect changes in the body odor when blood sugar levels are out of levels that are safe. They will maintain their alert persistently until the blood sugar is returned to safe levels and will even seek help from other people if their human partner is non-responsive.
You can contact a group called Eyes Ears Nose and paws at their website at eenp.org to find out more about getting one of these dogs, or volunteering with them. They also accept donations to help those in financial trouble.
Diabetes Assistance Programs from Pharmaceutical Companies.
Every major pharmaceutical company that manufactures diabetic drugs offers diabetes assistance programs to provide assistance to patients without insurance who cannot afford the drugs they need to control their diabetes. These diabetes assistance programs range from providing free drugs and supplies to discounts and coupons. Just look up the company that manufactures the drugs you are using and phone them. They will be able to provide details about the diabetes assistance programs they offer.
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