I've jumped through hoops of fire (or so it feels) to manage the insurance side of my diabetes. After thirty-three years of Type 1 diabetes, I sadly understand that I have to be vigilant and, at times, downright aggressive in demanding the services, supplies, and medications I need to stay healthy.

• - Hours spent on hold with insurance customer representatives who act as gatekeepers, never allowing me to talk to individuals making decisions? Been there.
• - Forcing my health care team to fill out paperwork for authorization overrides for test strips and letters of medical necessity and charts and notes to get devices? Been there.
• - Researching health plans that don't want to put benefits information online to be easily accessible and read so that I can make the right decision and not go bankrupt? Been there.

And they claim that if you really need this medication, device, or service... well, you'll just have to appeal.And appeal.And appeal.What they hope is that you will give up and give in and let someone who has never met you or sat and discussed the best course of treatment decide your course of treatment. And in the end, you might lose the appeal.

Do they think we are dumb?

They must.

Do they think we'll stop asking?

They must.

Do they think we don't care because we've been quiet as a community?

They must.

You've been through there, haven't you? Those hoops of fire?

You've been told that despite what your health care team has prescribed as being the best individualized plan to manage your diabetes, your insurance company says:

"We know you better. You don't need this."

Did you know that you can do something?

The #DiabetesAccessMatters movement is our community's way of saying that we are not dumb.We will continue to ask. We continue to care. And we won't stop.

What Can YOU Do?

Your first course of action is to email the top executives of health care plans to let them know that "One size does not fit all when it comes to diabetes."

You can do this right now by clicking here.

It takes one minute to do.

Let them all know that our health care team knows us best and prescribes the tools, devices, medications that is best for each individual.

What's next for #DiabetesAccessMatters?

We want to change the way that insurance companies view diabetes.If that takes contacting state insurance commissioners, we will.If that takes Congressional mandates, we will.Because while we each have individual diabetes treatment plans, we all have to fight to manage them.

Do they think we're dumb?

Let's prove them wrong.

If you are unfamiliar with the #DiabetesAccessMatters movement, please click here and learn why the diabetes community is so concerned about recent insurance decisions that override the prescriptions written for medications, devices, and services.