Diabetes is the country*s sixth leading cause of death by disease. As you may know it is the leading cause of blindness, kidney disease, heart disease and amputations. Diabetes claims the lives of more than 193,000 Americans each year. Approximately 18.2 million Americans have diabetes, but one-third of those are undiagnosed. And many people that do have diabetes pay for their diabetes supplies. If you have insurance and live in the United States, you may be eligible.
As of May 2004, forty-six states have some type of laws requiring health insurance coverage to include treatment for diabetes. The states not included are Alabama, Idaho, North Dakota and Ohio.
As of 2002, two states, Georgia and Wisconsin passed an expansion of current coverage requirements. In 2003 Hawaii adopted a resolution to clarify its mandate of diabetes education coverage. No new laws were passed during the first four months of 2004.