Insulin was discovered 80 years ago and was administered by injection. 80 years later, insulin is still delivered by injection. Insulin pens have made injections easier. Insulin pumps can administer complex insulin delivery schedules. One option missing in the injection world is the convenience of a pump with the simplicity of a pen.
A company new to the diabetes market, Valeritas, has come up with a device that meets this need. The V-Go simplifies insulin delivery for people with type 2 diabetes who need meal time insulin as well as night time long acting insulin. The device is used for 1 day then replaced. It delivers background (basal) insulin with a constant slow delivery of short acting insulin. This replaces the Lantus or Levemir. This delivery is automatic and pre-set. Meal time doses are delivered by pushing a button. There are no batteries, no programming, no tubes. You will never see the needle.
I wore one for a day (without insulin) to see how it 'feels'. I felt a pinprick when the needle went in and the sensation was gone in a few seconds. Within the hour I forgot it was there. When I woke up in the morning I forgot it was there until I saw it. After a 20 mile bike ride there was no discomfort or any annoyance at all.
If you are interested in taking your insulin with this delivery system then first read the web site. Second, watch the how-to video on the web site. Third, please contact me. Most commercial insurance plans will cover this prescription and with a copay reduction card should cost about $25. It is NOT covered by Medicare part D plans yet.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Who needs health insurance companies?
Who Needs Health Insurance Companies?
Transcript:
Hello and welcome. I'm Dr. George Lundberg and this is At Large at MedPage Today.
Imagine an America with no health insurance companies.
What do health insurance companies do?
They take as much money as possible from people who want health insurance coverage. They pay out as little money as possible -- so-called medical loss -- to settle claims from creditors for health services and products that have been delivered.
They keep as much money as possible for the incomes of their executives and other employees, and to enhance share value for their owners.
They do try to attract enough premium money from customers -- so-called covered lives -- so that they can spread the risk of a few high-cost customers across the premiums of many low-cost customers.
They try as much as they legally can to cover as many low-cost customers as possible, and to keep as many high-cost customers out of their plans in order to maximize revenues and minimize expense.
They do employ a lot of people, all "following the money" -- sort of a jobs program.
Why do we need them? There must be a better way.
It is true that health insurance companies use market clout to attempt to "keep costs low."
And they are motivated to try to keep their own costs low by limiting use of expensive procedures.
But, by any fair, rational, national, international, and outcome measure, health insurance companies have failed to keep utilization low and failed to keep costs low.
But they have succeeded splendidly at growing their workforces, paying their execs highly, and rewarding their shareholders handsomely.
The for-profit American health insurance industry -- and many of those not-for-profit lookalikes -- is a poster child for the triumph of poorly-regulated and misplaced capitalism in a historically fundamental service profession.
Why does the United States need health insurance companies at all?
The answer is we don't, at least not in their current forms. They cause more harm than they do good.
There must be better way to use our national and personal resources more effectively and efficiently to keep our people healthy and manage their illnesses when they get sick.
Let's create it.
Having abolished health insurance companies in this fantasy, how would you start over?
I would grandfather in Medicare, but insist that it be greatly improved before implementation.
I would expect most ambulatory care to be paid out of pocket up to a means-based annual deductible.
And I would insist on means-based "catastrophic coverage" for ALL Americans.
I would expect the government to pay for preventive services for all that had been proven to be safe and effective, considering them to be public health.
I would take the profit motive out of the health insurance market.
What do you think about these ideas? What would you do? Let our readers know.
That's my opinion. I'm Dr. George Lundberg, At Large for MedPage Toda
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