I have type 1 diabetes. For-profit companies exploit people like me — and it’s deadly | Opinion

Exploiting diabetics

Diabetes is a common and natural variation of the human condition, and people with diabetes deserve to be treated as humans rather than as consumers of medicine and healthcare. Insulin is a hormone that is required for survival. It is as necessary as water and should be as accessible as water.

My name is Jennifer Perkins. I am the leader of Washington’s #insulin4all chapter. I have lived with type 1 diabetes for nearly two decades and I will die without insulin. Lifesaving medications should be made accessible.

Many people are rationing medication due to systemic barriers, including cost. Insulin rationing rates are as high as 25% and disproportionately impact people of color. Rationing due to cost is reported to be higher among Black, middle-income and uninsured adults.

Further, some poor health outcomes among diabetics may be due to diabetes itself, but with advancements in medicine and technology, it is clear that disparities between people with diabetes and non-diabetics are due to inequitable social structures. Diabetes is a stigmatized condition. Diabetes is hard. Barriers and inequities in our health system don’t help.

One of the barriers to accessing insulin is cost. Another is the requirement to see a doctor for a prescription, even when that prescription is ongoing.

Restricting access to meet our physiological needs can be deadly. Diabetes is a self-managed condition. After the initial learning curve, one manages diabetes largely without the guidance of a provider. Why do I need permission to obtain the insulin I need to survive? Why has society allowed for-profit companies to financially exploit people like me? Why have we allowed them to charge so much that many diabetics must go without?

We have a right to live too. Insulin should be made accessible for those of us who need it.

We have made progress. The passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act and local copay caps are helpful, but these caps do not apply to everyone.

This year, I hope that Washington lawmakers can pass SSB 5776 in the state Legislature to improve access to emergency insulin in Washington.

This bill is not perfect, but it is one step closer toward #insulin4all.

Jennifer Perkins, Tacoma

Medicaid patients need care

Washington is at a crisis point in ensuring that Medicaid patients get real health care. Patients have health insurance, but many clinics can’t see Medicaid patients because the state doesn’t reimburse the actual cost of care.

As a Tacoma physician, I want people to know how inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates hurt our neighbors. The current situation puts people at risk, particularly in the areas of mammography and prenatal ultrasound exams.

For example, mammogram scheduling has reached an alarming eight-month wait. This delay poses a serious risk, considering the time-sensitive nature of breast cancer detection.

Medicaid underpayment also delays prenatal ultrasound exams, sometimes by weeks.

This inconveniences and worries expectant parents and delays the ability to detect potential health issues for both mother and child.

Because of poor reimbursement rates, Washington struggles to attract and retain radiologists, resulting in delayed diagnoses and treatment plans for everyone.

Washington is 47th for Medicaid funding but is 7th for cost of living. Having adequate reimbursement rates helps support all patients.

This is a problem the state can solve.

In the Legislature, HB 2476 and SB 6309 increase rates with federal dollars, opening clinic doors to more patients regardless of economic circumstances.

Jeffrey Wesolowski, Tacoma